'Just be patient': The Big E — and its traffic — are back for another year

The 2023 Big E in West Springfield, Massachusetts, will take place between Sept. 15 and Oct. 1, 2023.

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September 13, 2024

The Big E kicks off its 17-day run Friday at the fairgrounds in West Springfield, Massachusetts. The event regularly attracts around 1.5 million visitors, and that’s a whole lot of vehicles.

West Springfield Mayor Will Reichelt offered some advice.

“Just be patient. The fair is a lot of fun. It’s an awesome annual tradition that we have here in West Springfield,” he said. “There’s going to be some traffic.”

That is especially true on weekends, when daily attendance can hit or exceed 150,000. Reichelt said police will use similar strategies as in previous years to keep vehicles flowing as much as possible.

The mayor says some businesses near the fairgrounds which do not have a presence at the Big E are negatively impacted by the traffic.

But Reichelt said the town also benefits from other, smaller events held at the venue throughout the year.

“Those things, those events, bring people in,” he said.

Anne-Alise Pietruska, a Big E spokesperson, offered her own advice to maybe beat some of the crowds and traffic.

“Everyone loves to come on the weekends, everyone loves to come on the middle weekend in particular, but if you have any availability to take a vacation day to come during the week, that’s really the best time to come,” she said.

Pietruska said the weather is one variable that often dictates just how many people show up. She said several rainy days during the Big E last year hurt attendance, which totaled more than 1.4 million. That was down from 1.6 million in 2022.

Food is often a popular attraction at the Big E. Pietruska said there are 13 new vendors and more than 100 new offerings this year.