By Anson Tebbetts | August 4, 2021
Last year we faced uncertainty under the cloud of Covid and we were not able to hold large gatherings. Vermonters stepped up in the fight against the pandemic and through our collective efforts, the Green Mountains are now open for summer, 2021.
Country fairs and field days are among Vermont’s time-honored summer traditions, often taking us back to a life that somehow seems like it was less complicated. Communities unite around about a dozen agricultural fairs happening throughout Vermont, starting in July and running into early autumn. Celebrating agriculture, Vermont’s fairs and field days bring together locals and visitors for animal, produce, and craft competitions, as well as rides, games, and of course, fair food.
We missed our country fairs and field Days in 2020. In addition to bringing visitors into communities, fairs and field days provide educational opportunities for Vermont’s youth. Raising a calf requires months of preparation; showing the animal teaches life-long skills. Keeping a cow spotless is hard work. Training an animal to behave with spectators is not easy. A young farmer’s joy in winning a blue ribbon is undeniable, and there is also the lesson of not winning.
That same life lesson can be found in the garden. Striving to earn a blue ribbon in the summer begins with sowing seeds in the spring. We learn about soil, fertilizer, weather, and pests, and bringing home that prize is the culmination of months of hard work. Like raising a calf, gardening is an intricate recipe that delivers extensive rewards.
The Agency of Agriculture, along with the support of Governor Scott and the Legislature, was able to provide important resources for our fairs and field days this summer. The state budget included $500,000 in grant dollars for fair and field days organizers. The dollars will help pay the big bills that are part of putting on a fair or field day. We are grateful for the countless volunteers who support the fairs and field days so they may flourish and continue.
Along with Vermont’s fair and field days, the “Big E” Eastern States Exposition in West Springfield, Massachusetts, is back too, also having taken the year off in 2020. This year the fair runs from September 17 – October 3. The Vermont Building at the fair will be open, trumpeting all things “Vermont” on the Avenue of States. If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Big E and the Vermont building, it’s bucket-list worthy! Many of Vermont’s finest farmers, producers, artists, and food companies are ambassadors of the Vermont story, showcasing their piece of Vermont during the 17 -day fair.
As we say so long to summer and hello to fall, we are thankful for all those that got us to a better spot. I hope you can enjoy a fair or a field day along with so many of those public events we missed during 2020.
Find a Vermont Fairs and Field Days event: https://agriculture.vermont.gov/fairs-fielddays
Enjoy!
Secretary Anson Tebbetts
Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets
