‘Old-fashioned country fair’

Littleville Fair returns Friday through Sunday

By C ori U rban Special to The Republican

Even after more than 100 years, the Littleville Fair still has something new to offer fairgoers.

New events this year include a beef cattle show, a lawnmower race and a demolition derby along with traditional truck and antique tractor pulls. There will be bingo in the dining hall for the first time on Aug. 4, beginning at 6 p.m.

The 101st Littleville Fair will take place Friday through Sunday at the Littleville Fairgrounds, 15 Kinnebrook Road, Chester.

New events and activities invigorate a fair. “We hope they draw a crowd in to see something different,” said Littleville Fair President Maurice R. Boisseau Sr., crediting members of the parade committee for proposing new things for the fair, discussing them and voting on what to add. “We try to pick things that will bring people to the fair.”

In addition to the new events, fairgoers will find upgrades to the information booth, dining hall, main exhibit hall and snack bar.

“It was time” to make the upgrades, Boisseau said. “We want to keep them going for maybe another hundred years.”

The fair is open even if it rains, and Boisseau said some 3,000 to 5,000 people attend, depending on the weather. “People come from all over,” and the draw, he said, is “an old-fashioned country fair.”

Plus, he added, “people love the dinners” that are

IF YOU GO:

Event: Littleville Fair

When: Aug. 4, 5 and 6

Where: Littleville Fairgrounds, 15 Kinnebrook Road, Chester

Admission: Adults $10; Children age 12 years and under free

For more information: Online littlevillefair.com; by phone 413-667-3193; by email thelittlevillefair@ gmail.com prepared by members of the fair committee.

This year there will be music, animal events, a magic show, balloon sculpting, face painting, chicken and turkey dinners, raffles, a children’s blueberry pie-eating, a BMX performance, farm Olympics, a parade, a women’s fry-pan toss, a beard competition, a zucchini contest weigh-in, a children’s potato-sack race and a Jack-and-Jill cross-cut saw competition.

“We support local ag(riculture) and 4-H 100 percent,” Boisseau said.

Hours are 4 to 10 p.m. Friday; 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday; and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, rain or shine.

The fairgrounds are at 15 Kinnebrook Road.

Admission to the fair is

$10 adults and free for children 12 and under.

The Littleville Fair is a non-rofit organization that plans, manages and operates the country fair each August at the Littleville Fairground. The organization hosts family-friendly agricultural, craft and country events and performances for three days of fun during the fair and organizes and runs fundraisers during the rest of the year.

There is currently a capital campaign for new bathrooms. Donations can be sent to Littleville Fair, 15 Kinnebrook Road, Chester, MA 01011.

For more information, go online to littlevillefair. com, call 413-667-3193 or email thelittlevillefair@ gmail.com.

Should minors be able to drink nonalcoholic beer?

Arecent Article

in Food & Wine raised an interesting question: Can minors legally buy and/or consume nonalcoholic beer?

As the article delineates, the question doesn’t have a straightforward yes/no answer. A lot depends on state laws, but in the case of “drinking” it legally, the answer is probably “yes.” Purchasing it at a liquor store or restaurant, however, may not be as simple.

The first aspect is whether we’re talking about totally nonalcoholic beer or those that are labeled “less than 0.5% ABV.” The former is no more dangerous for young folks than soda, and many would argue that soda is worse in many ways. The latter example is where things get a bit tricky.

However, as the article states, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 clearly defines the limits: “Alcoholic beverage means beer, distilled spirits, and wine containing one-half of 1% or more of alcohol by volume. Beer includes, but is not limited to, ale, lager, porter, stout, sake, and other similar fermented beverages brewed or produced from malt, wholly or in part or from any substitute therefore.”

So anything below that 0.5% threshold is not deemed an alcoholic beverage by the federal government. But, of course, states often have their own ideas about what their citizens should and shouldn’t be doing, and there are states that tighten that stricture. There are 14 states that prohibit minors from even drinking totally nonalcoholic beer.

Now, there will be opinions all over the map about this topic. I understand the various points of view, and I don’t necessarily staunchly disagree with most of them. My opinion is that 100% nonalcoholic beers should be legal