The Big E: 45 vendors offering gluten-free food options, see masslive.com
BIG E MUSIC: Who’s who in this year’s lineup? D3
MARY GAUTHIER: Award-winning folk singer to play Iron Horse Music Hall, D5
United We Fair
Big E goes patriotic for 2024 run, which kicks off tomorrow. Page D2
OFF THE MENU: Fair season marks return of inventive, ‘outlandish’ foods, D8
Big E goes patriotic for 2024 run
United We Fair
By K eith O ’C onnor Special to The Republican
Fingers crossed — The Big E opens on Friday the 13th.
“It happens every seven years and we have survived,” laughed Eugene Cassidy, president and CEO of the Eastern States Exposition.
It’s election year and The Big E is feeling patriotic for its 17-day run through Sept. 29.
“Our theme this year is United We Fair, which is a play on
Above, from left: Mary Morrison, left, of Peru, and Katie Cross, of Bennington, Vt., share a Miss Potato Head from Frisky Fries in the Rhode Island Building during a past Big E; goats inside Farm-A-Rama; and Thomas Utnehmer stands next to his grandfather, Rick Hoffman, both of Warren, R.I., with a giant pickle they won at a past fair. The 2024 Big E opens its gates tomorrow. (THE REPUBLICAN, FILE PHOTOS)
Who’s who in The Big E’s music lineup this year?
By C hris Mc L aughlin cmclaughlin@masslive.com
The Big E is finally here and the annual fair’s extensive list of performance acts has filled out, from a host of notable names playing the fair’s largest stage to dozens of local and upand-coming acts set to play at smaller fairground stages.
Here’s the complete list of musical acts you can check out when The Big E returns to the Eastern States Exposition fairgrounds in West Springfield from Friday Sept. 13, through Sunday, Sept. 29.
The Big E Arena
The fair’s largest and more prominent stage, The Big E Arena, has around 10 headliner acts lined up. Slated performances begin at 7:30 p.m. each night at the Big E Arena.
• Phil Wickham — Friday, Sept. 13
• Ludacris — Saturday, Sept. 14
• Umphrey’s McGee with Lotus — Sunday, Sept. 15
• Dustin Lynch with Dylan Scott — Friday, Sept. 20
• Diplo with Kito — Saturday, Sept. 21
• America (band) — Sunday, Sept. 22
• Brothers Osborne — Friday, Sept. 27
• Public Enemy — Saturday, Sept. 28
• Big Time Rush — Sunday, Sept. 29
Tickets are available for sale exclusively through The Big E’s website, and they include admission to the fair when bought online ahead of the performances.
The Big E noted concerts will take place rain or shine, but with possible performance delays if thunderstorms pose a risk.
The Court of Honor Stage
The Court of Honor stage is located in front of the fairground’s historic Coliseum, and the venue will host daily shows at 12 p.m., 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., according to The Big E.
• DNA Mindreaders (12 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13 to
“United
Big E
United We Stand. We are an amalgamation of America, where friends come to celebrate the American way of life,” Cassidy said.
He further expressed in a press release about The Big E’s 2024 advertising campaign that it “aims to bring everyone together to enjoy one of America’s most beloved events — an agri-
cultural fair. United We Fair perfectly encapsulates our commitment to providing people from all over New England and beyond wholesome family fun — complete with excellent food.”
The fifth largest fair in the United States, The Big E is also the largest agricultural event on the Eastern Seaboard with livestock shows galore with beef cattle, dairy cattle, dairy goat, sheep, swine, pulling competitions and more.
The Mallary Complex is host to animal showmanship and demonstrations, where you can view cows being milked in the Milking Parlor and get need-to-know facts about dairy products from the Singing Refrigerator. Also under the Mallary Rotunda, visitors can see in a cooler hundreds of pounds of butter
being turned into a sculpture, as well as the 4-H Milk Booth and Christmas Tree Exhibit.
Farm-A-Rama has pigs and piglets, beekeepers, goats, hatching chicks and, new this year, The Hobby Knoll Clydesdales.
Two of the biggest attractions bringing fairgoers through the gates each year are big name entertainment and an endless menu of gastronomical treats.
The paid entertainment — which includes admission to the fair — begins on Friday at The Big E Arena with contemporary Christian artist Phil Wickham, followed on Saturday by a sold-out performance by three-time Grammy Award winning rapper Ludacris. Sunday’s stage will be filled with the genre-defying Umphrey’s
CALIDORE STRING QUARTET
Audience members cheer during a past concert at the Big E Arena. (HOANG ‘LEON’ NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN, FILE PHOTO)
EUGENE CASSIDY, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE EASTERN STATES EXPOSITION
Big E
CONTINUES FROM PAGE D3
McGee with Lotus.
Tickets still remain for Dustin Lynch with special guest Dylan Scott, Diplo with special guest Kito, America, Brothers Osborne, Public Enemy, Phil Wickham, Umphrey’s McGee with Lotus, and Big Time Rush.
“Ludacris wasn’t able to appear a number of years back with us and had to cancel his engagement at the fair, but now he is coming back with a sold-out audience waiting for him. I’m also looking forward to seeing America at our Big E Arena and hearing their many hits from ‘A Horse with No Name’ to ‘Ventura Highway’ and so many other great songs. And appearing with the America band will be Jim Messina from the celebrated band Loggins and Messina,” Cassidy said.
“We have over $1 million in paid music entertainment that we are giving away free on our Court of Honor Stage,” Cassidy said.
The Court of Honor Stage comes alive on Friday with the gifted DNA Mindreaders, Sept. 13-18; Siamsa Tire: The National Folk Theatre of
Ireland, Sept. 13-15; Young Dubliners, Sept. 14; and Average White Band, Sept. 15.
Friday night is also devoted to Taylor Swift lovers who cannot afford to see her live with Let’s Sing Taylor — A Live Band Experience in tribute to the mega-superstar with their own stand-in for Taylor.
Other Court of Honor Stage acts, 25 in all, include twister Chubby Checker, Debby Boone, Australian Bee Gees, Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noon from the British Invasion days, Lisa Loeb, Andy Kim, Femmes of Rock and many more.
The Big E website boasts “this year may be the best one yet” for food, with more than 75 new food items and some 13 new food vendors serving up all kinds of unimaginable treats such as deviled eggs, pickle fries,
Korean corn dogs, maple bacon cupcakes, Puerto Rican flan, pickle juice, deep fried ice cream sandwiches, moo bombs, Greek fries, goulash stew, Gulab Jamun — an Indian dessert, Ferrindino maple creemee cannoli, tater tots loaded with lobster, ap ple cider pulled pork grilled cheese, Crab Rangoon pizza, empanadas with beef or spin ach and sweet empanadas, too, as well as Taylor’s Lav ender Haze Lemonade — and you know who she is — from the V-One Craft Cocktail Bar. For fairgoers deciding to make their special day at the fair on Sept. 16, they are in luck with a buck, actually $3, during “Three-Buck Bites” day. As part of the special promotion, participating vendors will offer over 90 treats served up as small portion dishes to full-sized
Pictured are scenes from past Big E fairs on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition.
(THE REPUBLICAN, FILE PHOTOS)
George Lenker LIVE WIRE
Apples, garlic & salsa make for tasty musical recipe
MANY PEOPLE IN the world probably like to think of their local or regional area as somewhat special in some way. We here in Western Massachusetts are no different.
Western Massachusetts is sometimes seen as the lesser sibling of the metro Boston area, but while Beantown and its suburbs certainly have plenty of pizzazz, the area west of Worcester is also chock full of delights. This is particularly true of the Connecticut River Valley, where there is a delightful melange of funky and farmland festivities, especially in the fall.
I’m writing this because I noticed an impressive string of these off-the-beaten path entertainment events (with music, of course) coming up, which we will look at today.
Let’s run through them chronologically, which means the Outlook Farm Apple Festival on Sept. 22 will kick today’s column off. The annual fruit fest this year will feature music by The Wolves, a band that includes members of local favorites Eavesdrop. Along with great music, the affair
Mary Gauthier talks music, journey behind
‘Saved By A Song’
Folk singer to play Iron Horse Music Hall; Robbie Fulks also set to perform
By K eith O ’C onnor Special to The Republican
On the heels of the 25th anniversary of her celebrated sophomore album, “Drag Queens in Limousines,” and the upcoming Americana Music Association’s AMERICANAFEST All-Star Tribute to her, folk singer Mary Gauthier will appear at Iron Horse Music Hall on Friday, Sept. 13, in concert with Robbie Fulks.
Back on Sept. 13, 1999, “Drag Queens in Limousines” introduced the world to a special songwriter whose character-based narratives spoke of the outsiders in
items at the reduced price of $3. Among the tasty delights awaiting diners include Oreo cookie frappuccino from the Cinnamon Saloon, sweet potato taco from Sassy’s Sweet Potatoes, bacon cheeseburger at the West Springfield Lions Club, frosting shot and sugar cookies from LuAnn’s Bakery, frozen strawberry lemonade from Jungle Juice Smoothies, Cha Feo’s new-to-the-fair Japanese donut “Mochinut,” a cloud of Sweet and Salty’s Cotton Candy or an ooey-gooey, homemade, deep-fried chocolate chip cookie from Kora’s Cookie Dough. Some beer gardens are also participating in Three-Buck Bites with Harpoon Beer Hall’s Braided Pizza Pretzel, and American Craft Beer Pub & Grill’s Mini Irish Nachos.
The New England Building is home to The Big E Bakery where you will find signature Big E foods — the cream puff and éclair with the flavor of the year, cookies and cream. To wash it all down there will be milkshakes, soda, water and cider, as well as an assortment of branded beers and craft beers at the many brew gardens located throughout the fair, including
society. Much like so many of her musical heroes, such as John Prine, Lucinda Williams and Tom Waits, Gauthier’s thoughtful lyrics and honest voice shone light on the humanity deep within her protagonists, which served to remind listeners that we are all connected.
After living much of her life deep in the fire, which was well-documented in her highly praised 2021 book “Saved By A Song: The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting,” the Louisiana native moved to Boston in 1984 to get away from the drugs and scene around her. With a fresh start, she opened one of the city’s first Cajun restaurants. In 1990, at the age of 27, she really began to get her life together by getting sober, and at the age of 35, she wrote her first
the new Easy Company Brewing, a veteran-owned brewery whose mission is to help veterans and first responders by donating 100% of its profits to charities that work on their behalf. Their military-themed booth, called the BUNKER, is located in front of the transportation building, behind the Maine building on the Avenue of States.
For cowboys and cowgirls of all ages, Dolly’s Honky Tonk returns with World Champion Trick Roper Trevor Dreher, Sept. 13-19; Johnny Lonestar, Sept. 20-22; and Cowboy Circus, Sept. 23-29; Stompin’ Boots Line Dancing, Sept. 16-19 and Sept. 23-26; and the new Boot Scootin’ Saloon, as well as a mechanical bull for some extra fun.
For parade lovers, The Big Parade is a fair tradition, held daily at 6 p.m. with high school marching bands, specialty floats, antique vehicles, performance groups, Hallamore Clydesdales and the chance to catch a few beads thrown from the authentic Mardi Gras floats.
“This year we have purchased a new Mardi Gras float that was used in the New Orleans Mardi Gras Parade last year. We saw it on a visit last year and I said, “We have to have it.” It’s an alligator
BIG E, PAGE D12
NORTHAMPTON
Mary Gauthier will play the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton on Friday. (ALEXA KINIGOPOULOS)
Tickets for paid concerts can be purchased exclusively through the Big E website, and include admission to the fair when bought in advance.
Music
CONTINUES FROM PAGE D3
Wednesday, Sept. 18) — the mind-reading duo who will “read your mind as accurately as you can read words from a page”;
• Siamsa Tire: The National Folk Theatre of Ireland (2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13 - Sunday, Sept. 15) — The group shares stories from Irish folk culture and traditions;
• Let’s Sing Taylor (8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13) — A live band experience paying tribute to the music of singer Taylor Swift with cover songs;
• Young Dubliners (8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 14) — A Celtic Rock band with 30 years of history as a band that is working on its 10th studio album;
• Average White Band (8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 15) — A soul and funk band formed in 1972 that is currently on its farewell tour;
• Chubby Checker (2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16 - Tuesday, Sept. 17) — Known for hits such as “The Twist” along with a total of 36 hit records across his career, the Big E called him a “one-of-a-kind rock icon”;
• Australian Bee Gees (8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16Tuesday, Sept. 17) — A tribute show to the Bee Gees in which
performers take on the trio’s iconic fashion styles and decades of music;
• Debby Boone (2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18 - Thursday, Sept. 19) — Known for her successes in pop, country, adult contemporary and contemporary Christian music genres, Boone’s career began in 1977, and she has released 13 studio albums;
• Asia (8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 18) — An English rock supergroup that has released eight studio albums;
• Paul Russell (8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19) — A Dallas, Texas, native whose single “Lil Boo Tang” became a sensation on TikTok and Instagram accruing tens of millions of views;
• Deep Blue Something (2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20 - Sunday, Sept. 22) — a rock band known for its ’90s sophomore album “Home,” and hit singles like “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” “Halo,” and “Josey”;
• Fuel (8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20) — A hard rock band that became known in the late ’90s for songs such as “Shimmer,” “Bittersweet” and “Hemorrhage (In My Hands)”;
• Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa (8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 22) — One half of the Grammy Award-winning hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa, known for hits
like “Push It,” “Shoop,” and “Whatta Man”;
• Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone (2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23 - Tuesday, Sept. 24) — A rock and pop group led by singer Peter Noone that has sold 60 million records and had 20 Top 40 hits spanning the band’s career;
• Wang Chung (8 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23 - Tuesday, Sept. 24) — A London-based new wave group known for its ’80s music hits
• Powerhouse (12 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 24 - Sunday, Sept. 29) — A performance group that combines tap, clogging, Irish step dancing and stomp into “an electrifying dance experience”;
• Femmes of Rock (2 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25 - Thursday, Sept. 26) — A high-energy rock production fronted by four female violinists and vocalists and play the music of acts such as Queen, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Van Halen,
The Who and more;
• Slaughter (8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25) — A hard rock band that has toured with acts such as Kiss and Ozzy Osbourne;
• Great Southern (8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26) — A group founded in 1977 by Dickey Betts — when the group the Allman Brothers went on hiatus — that brings back the sounds of Duane Allman and Betts from the late 1960s;
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Clockwise from above left: Chubby Checker, Big Time Rush, Phil Wickham and Maddi Ryan are among the acts playing The Big E this year.
SEE MUSIC, PAGE D7
• Andy Kim (2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27 - Sunday, Sept. 29) — A Canadian singer who has sold over 30 million records during his more than 50-year career;
• Lisa Loeb (8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27) — A Grammy Award-winning pop singer-songwriter described as a “90s music icon” by The Big E;
• Matt Friend (8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 28) — A stand-up comedian who has over a million followers across social media and has appeared on shows such as “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “The Today Show.” He is known for more than 250 celebrity impressions — from Timothée Chalamet to Jennifer Coolidge;
• Hinder (8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29) — A multiplatinum rock band that began in the mid-2000s and has played alongside Aerosmith, Mötley Crüe, Nickelback and more The Court of Honor shows are free with the price of admission to the fair and seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The E Stage
Daily performances will occur at 3 and 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and at 12:30 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday during the fair’s 17-day run. Each performance will be an hour-and-a-half long.
• Wyn and the White Light (Friday, Sept. 13 at 12:30 p.m.) — a soul-rock band led by twotime Female Performer of the Year New England Music Award nominee Wyn Doran;
• Reservations at 8 (Friday, Sept. 13 at 4:30 p.m.) — an independent rock trio based in Massachusetts;
• Sláinte (Friday, Sept. 13 at 8:30 p.m.) — a six-piece Irish-American folk-rock band that formed in a Boston College dorm room in 2013;
• The Corner Boys (Saturday, Sept. 14 at 12:30 p.m.) — a traditional Irish and folk band from Holyoke;
• Ruby Leftstep (Saturday, Sept. 14 at 4:30 p.m.) — a band formed in summer 2021
which has cultivated a tight knit community of fans in and around New Hartford, Connecticut;
• Hello Sister (Saturday, Sept. 14 at 8:30 p.m.) — a pop rock band made up of teenage sisters who appeared on season 16 of “America’s Got Talent”;
• Charlie Marie (Sunday, Sept. 15 at 12:30 p.m.) — a classic country singer who “bridges the gap between Nashville and her native Rhode Island”;
• Sarah the Fiddler (Sunday, Sept. 15 at 4:30 p.m.) — a fiddler and violinist who performs alongside two other musicians — one of whom is her husband, who plays the drums, and another who plays the piano and accordion;
• The New Limits (Sunday, Sept. 15 at 8:30 p.m.) — a band who “bring a style of their own to the scene, having been influenced by their diverse tastes in music”;
• King Saison (Monday, Sept. 16 at 3 p.m.) — described as a “charcuterie board of musical flavors,” it is a genre-bending band from Springfield;
• Delta Generators (Monday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m.) — a Boston-based band that draws on the traditions of blues, roots, R&B, Americana and rock;
• Natasha Ramos and The Casuals (Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 3 p.m.) — Ramos is a Hartford, Connecticut native and has worked as a professional recording artist for over 15 years who shares R&B, pop
day, Sept. 26 at 3 p.m.) — a singer-songwriter specializing in acoustic pop from Westfield who appeared on season 25 of “The Voice”;
• Maddi Ryan (Thursday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.) — a Boston-based country singer-songwriter;
• Jeaux (Friday, Sept. 27 at 12:30 p.m.) — an alternative rock band from Westfield formed in 2023 made up of friends who met at a university psychology department;
and soul vibes with her band to listeners;
• Padded Waltz (Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 7 p.m.) — a progressive art-pop band rooted in Western Massachusetts;
• Stoneface Mountain (Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 3 p.m.) — a Boston-area band with a classic bluegrass sound;
• JULAI and the Serotones (Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.) — an eight-piece band from Connecticut who have played on music bills with the likes of John Mayer, Hozier, Alanis Morissette and more;
• nuVos (Thursday, Sept. 19 at 3 p.m.) — a band “converging the energy of punk with the sophistication of jazz” with a history of performances in Connecticut;
• Leon Trout (Thursday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.) — a fourpiece jam influenced rock band based out of Massachusetts;
• Katie Dobbins (Friday, Sept. 20 at 12:30 p.m.) — an award-winning singer-songwriter who seeks to bring light to the darkness;
• CATWOLF (Friday, Sept. 20 at 4:30 p.m.) — a soulful rock trio;
• The Breaks Inc. (Friday, Sept. 20 at 8:30 p.m.) — a six-piece retro-roc outfit from Queens, New York;
• Derek O’Kanos (Saturday, Sept. 21 at 12:30 p.m.) — a solo artist and vocalist whose genre is described as “a mix of powerpop, folkrock, and alternative”;
• Rolling Nectar (Saturday, Sept. 21 at 4:30 p.m.) — a Boston-based trio that “delivers
a gritty powerful soul rock sound in a tightly polished set of melodic grooves and riffs”;
• Krishna Guthrie Band (Saturday, Sept. 21 at 8:30 p.m.) — a group whose family story is “interwoven into the fabric of American music”;
• Audio Jane (Sunday, Sept. 22 at 12:30 p.m.) — a female-fronted atmospheric rock band from Connecticut;
• Natalia Bonfini (Sunday, Sept. 22 at 4:30 p.m.) — a blues and funk singer-songwriter raised on Cape Cod, she was also a finalist on season 20 of “American Idol”;
• Buddahfly (Sunday, Sept. 22 at 8:30 p.m.) — an award-nominated reggae-rock group from the South Shore of Massachusetts;
• J Smith & The Oddballs (Monday, Sept. 23 at 3 p.m.) — a group who perform an “eclectic mix” of Americana and rock & roll from Springfield;
• Mainline (Monday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.) — a New Yorkbased hard rock band;
• Our Common Roots (Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 3 p.m.)
— a band with folk-infused, rock-inspired stylings;
• Slow Burn (Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m.) — a band whose music is a blend of blues and rock with “soulful vocals and rich harmonies”;
• River Sang Wild (Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 3 p.m.) — an indie alternative rock band trio from Boston and New Hampshire;
• Immuter (Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m.) — an American indie band from the South Coast of Massachusetts;
• Madison Curbelo (Thurs-
• Drop Party (Friday, Sept. 27 at 4:30 p.m.) — a genre-bending seven-piece band from the coastal Connecticut scene;
• Elle Baez (Friday, Sept. 27 at 8:30 p.m.) — a Latina popsoul singer-songwriter who professes self-love and body positivity and has more than 100,000 followers on TikTok and Instagram;
• John Spignesi Band (Saturday, Sept. 28 at 12:30 p.m.) — A trio comprised of Spignesi, bassist Joe Jeffery and drummer Matt Alling, with a goal to “create music that makes listeners forget about the chaos of the world, if only for a brief moment”;
• The 413s (Saturday, Sept. 28 at 4:30 p.m.) — a rock & roll band with blues roots from the hill towns of Western Massachusetts;
• Noah Richardson (Saturday, Sept. 28 at 8:30 p.m.) — an alt-pop singer-songwriter who began as a street performer in Philadelphia and now has over 475,000 monthly listeners on Spotify;
• DAYMEN (Sunday, Sept. 29 at 12:30 p.m.) — an acoustic ensemble playing yesterday’s hits and original soulful songs;
• Jelly (Sunday, Sept. 29 at 4:30 p.m.) — a Connecticut band that mixes the genres of funk, rock, jazz-fusion and soul who have shared stages with acts like Fitz and the Tantrums;
• LASTMINUTE (Sunday, Sept. 29 at 8:30 p.m.) — an indie pop band from Western Massachusetts established in 2021
The performances on The E Stage come with the price of admission to the fair, meaning guests do not have to pay more to see these acts.
Pepa of Salt-N-Pepa fame, at left, and Diplo, above, are among the acts playing The Big E this year.
Fair season marks return of inventive, ‘outlandish’ foods
WITH THE BIG E opening this week — and the state fair season already well underway — inventiveness, sometimes even outlandishness, once again reigns among what midway food concessionaires are offering.
Those visiting the Minnesota State Fair last month found lots of new temptations.
Bacon was big, appearing in a number of items — wrapped around sausage slices, used as a topping for hummus, and dipped in pancake batter before being griddled and topped with PB&J.
Ranch dressing, always a tastebud favorite, was available in deep-fried form. Blended with cream cheese, it was stuffed into wonton wrappers before being deep fried and served with a hot honey drizzle.
Those visiting the soon-tobe-underway Oklahoma State Fair in Oklahoma City will have the option of savoring bacon in bacon-wrapped Oreo cookies or as bacon jam on a burger.
Pickles will be playing a prominent role as well. They’re being featured on spicy pickle pizza or in a deepfried form that’s crusted with Cool Ranch Doritos crumbs and served with ranch dip.
At New England’s own state fair, The Big E, new food adventures waiting to be sampled include deep-fried deviled eggs prepared with a host of fillings (The Deviled Egg), pickle fries with gravy and cheese (Pickle Fries), and an updated Craz-E Burger made with an Angus beef “smash burger” that’s served between two full-sized glazed donuts (The Emporium).
Traditional fair food favorites will be back as well, such as the Big E Bakery’s assortment of treats and White Hut’s Quad Father Burger, a four-patty bacon cheeseburger topped with White Hut’s
signature fried onions. A complete roster of food experiences new to the 2024 Big E can be found online.
Side Dishes
• Storrowton Tavern in West Springfield, which is located on the grounds of The Big E, will be offering a Big E Opening Buffet on Thursday, Sept. 12.
The all-you-can-eat buffet, which is priced at $15, will be served from 5-8 p.m. on the tavern’s patio.
Storrowton also will be open for lunch that day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., serving their regular menu.
For more details, call the restaurant at 413-732-4188.
• The Taste of Northampton is taking place on Saturday, Sept. 14, from noon to 8 p.m.
A traffic-snarling event that will close down Main Street and instead populate the pavement with restaurant booths, beverage outlets, and other food purveyors, the Taste will also feature live entertainment.
• Vanished Valley Brewing Company in Ludlow will be presenting a Fall Beer Dinner on Sept. 30. The event, which starts at 5:30 p.m. and costs $60 per person (tax
and gratuity included), will feature a five-course, Oktoberfest-themed menu.
After a starter of bratwurststuffed pretzels, a plate of house-made pierogis stuffed with Emmentaler cheese will be served.
A roasted sweet potato salad precedes the main course, which is to be pork schnitzel with sauerkraut.
Chocolate stout balls rolled in crushed pretzels are planned for dessert.
Vanished Valley beers will be featured with each course. Tickets are available online. Vanished Valley answers at 413-610-1572.
• On Wednesday, Sept. 18 starting at 6:30 p.m., Table 3 Restaurant Group Executive Chef Enrico Giovanello will be exploring “Italian Small Plates” as his September “Cooking with Rico” topic.
Giovanello’s demonstration will take place at Avellino in
Sturbridge; the cost to attend is $55 per person, tax and gratuity additional.
Tickets for Cooking with Rico can be purchased online.
Avellino Restaurant can be reached at 506-347-2321.
• On Tuesday, Sept. 17 starting at 6 p.m., the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring “Dinner Downtown,” an outdoor celebration of the dining experiences the Whip City has to offer.
Held at the Elm Street Plaza, Dinner Downtown will begin with savory nibbles from E. Silver Charcuterie. Participants then get to choose from entrees served by four Westfield-area eateries — Shortstop Bar & Grill (beef tenderloin), The Tavern (beef brisket), Tribeca Gastro Bar & Grille (braised short rib), and Tucker’s Restaurant (stuffed chicken breast).
Dessert is to be an assortment of pastries and sweets prepared by the Culinary Arts Program at Westfield Technical Academy.
For more information on Dinner Downtown, contact the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce at 413-5681618.
• During the weekend of Sept. 13-14, the Yarde Tavern
Clockwise from top left: Deviled Eggs from The Deviled Egg; Cookies & Cream Cream Puff from The Big E Bakery; and a new Craz-E Burger rolled in Flamin’ Hot Cheetos.
Hugh Robert Off The Menu
Cambridge Brewing set to close after 35 years
AFEW MASSACHUsetts breweries (Building 8, Hitchcock) have closed recently for different reasons.
Although it’s always sad to lose a brewery, the recent announcement that Cambridge Brewing will be shutting down at year’s end is a real gut punch.
For those of us old enough
to recall the early days of craft brewing, Cambridge was a shining star of Massachusetts beer. Opening in 1989, the brewery became a destination for craft beer aficionados across the region.
But now the longtime brewery and restaurant will wrap up its 35-year run on Dec. 20. I still recall the excitement when it first opened,
French cloudy wines perfect for warm, sunny days
WARM SUMMER weather thankfully seems to be lingering around for the last few weeks of the season.
That’s why this week I wanted to feature three French wines that taste great on warm afternoons or crisp, cool nights.
These three wines all come from Occitanie, a lesser-known wine region in the southern part of France not far from Provence and the Mediterranean Ocean.
All three wines also have something else in common — they have a distinct, cloudy-looking appearance.
Why do these wines look cloudy?
Because the wines are unfiltered.
Normally, most wines go through a filtration process after fermentation.
These three wines from Gerard Bertrand basically come straight from the tank to the bottle. As a result, tiny particles remain suspended in the bottle, giving the wines a cloudy appearance.
By skipping the filtration process, the wines also have vibrant, bold flavors.
According to the winery, Gerard Bertrand decided to make the wines these way partly because he wanted to give people the opportunity to taste wines straight out of the
tank, something usually only experienced by people working in a winery.
Unfiltered, natural wines have also become a popular trend, especially among younger wine drinkers looking for something different and unique.
I have tasted many wines before in this very young, unfiltered phase in wineries and restaurants. And it’s true — it’s an exciting, interesting way to taste wines at such an early, unfiltered stage.
Many times, I find that most wines benefit a lot from filtration. (I’m still on the fence about many, unfiltered natural wines.)
But in the case of these, three organic wines from Gerard Bertrand, I found all of them to be light, bright and an absolute pleasure. Let me add that all three wines taste best when slightly chilled.
Hope you enjoy.
Wine tasting notes
2023 Gerard Bertrand
Trouble White Wine ($25.99 Suggested Retail Price)
Grapes: 60% chardonnay, 20% grenache, 20% viognier
Tasting notes: Tart, bright lemon flavors abound in this dense, fruity wine with a pale yellow appearance. If you’re a martini drinker who prefers a twist to two olives, you will likely recognize the lemon peel flavor in this distinct wine,
as there were few brewpubs in the state at the time. (The Northampton Brewery had just opened two years previously.)
The main reason for the cessation of operations is that founder Phil Bannatyne wants to retire, and at age 68, he’s more than earned that right. I got in touch with head brewer and business partner Will My-
ers and asked a few questions about the decision.
“Yes, over the many decades of our working together we have regularly — every few years, anyway — had the ‘how many years do we have left in us?’ conversation,” Myers said. “A year and a half ago that conversation was held again as we and our team had
which also has hints of pineapple, peaches and mango.
2023 Gerard Bertrand Trouble Rose Wine ($25.99 SRP)
Grapes: 60% syrah, 40% grenache
Tasting notes: If you love Provence rose wines, which Gerard Bertrand is probably best known for making, you will absolutely enjoy this unfiltered, behind-the-scenes experience of what a rose wine tastes like straight out of the tank. Here, the flavors include subtle hints of lemon, strawberry and sea salt, along with hints of peach and honeydew melon.
2023 Gerard Bertrand
Trouble Red Wine ($25.99 SRP)
Grapes: 65% grenache, 35% syrah
Tasting notes: This wine will likely appeal to people love red wines from France’s Rhone region. However, instead of
being earthy and robust, this particular wine has lighter, more velvet-like finish. Flavors here are also softer and slightly fruitier, including hints of strawberry, lemon, peach, blackberry and raspberry. The result — an absolutely delightful, delicious wine.
Upcoming wine events
Valley Wine & Spirits Festival: Provisions in Amherst at 113 Cowls Road will host the Valley Wine & Spirits Festival on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 2-5 pm. More than 60 wines, spirits and cocktails will be available for tasting at the event. General admission tickets for the event are $50 each. There’s also a VIP tasting that starts at 1 pm and which will feature certain bottles not available for tasting during the general admission event. VIP tasting tickets are $70 each. For tickets or for more information about the wine tasting, visit the Provisions website.
HCC Wine Tasting Classes: Holyoke Community College’s Culinary Arts Institute will host four, non-credit wine tasting classes this fall at the HCC MGM Culinary Arts Institute at 164 Race St. The four wine classes will feature California wines (Tue., Sept 17, from 6 to 8 p.m.), wines from Chile and Argentina (Tue., Oct 8, from 6 to 8 p.m.), Spanish wines (Tue., Nov. 12, from 6 to 8 p.m.) and Italian red wines (Tue., Dec. 10, from 6 to 8 p.m). Yours truly will be hosting the four HCC wine tasting classes, which can be signed up for individually. Each wine tasting class costs $59 per person per class. To register for each class or for more information, visit the HCC culinary class website page. Cheers!
Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com every Monday and in The Republican’s Weekend section every Thursday.
Ken Ross Wine Press
George Lenker Beer Nut
SEE BEER, PAGE D10
The three French “cloudy” wines recommended this week. (PHOTO BY KEN ROSS)
Beer
survived the pandemic and were looking at a changed landscape. Phil had finished putting his last child through college and really wanted to retire. I also wanted to retire, or at least take a really long break. So we decided that it would be great to work through the end of our 35th
year and then walk away on our own terms.”
Myers said they discussed lots of options, including selling the business, and said there was plenty of interest.
“Ultimately the idea of someone else taking over and running a thing that we created didn’t feel like the right answer. The last thing I would ever want is to hear comments like ‘the beer isn’t as good’ or ‘it’s not like it
used to be’ after a change of hands,” he said. “Closing and walking away seems like a more elegant solution.”
Meyers said that what he will remember most is the camaraderie amongst the brewers and the front and back of the house, “the sense of all being a part of a really special and unique place, all working toward a common goal.”
“And I’ll miss being able to
spend my day in the brewhouse while watching people enjoy the fruits of our labor — and then joining my friends for a glass of beer at the end of my day,” he said. What is next for Meyers? “I’m taking a nice, long break from brewing,” he said. “I look forward to spending time with my amazing wife, reading, traveling, and discovering some new interests and hobbies.”
This beer nut is definitely going to make a pilgrimage to this hallowed beer haven before it closes. If you’d like to do the same, Cambridge’s hours are 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11:30 a.m.-8 p.m. on Sunday. It’s located at 1 Kendall Square in Cambridge. It’s absolutely worth the road trip.
in South Hadley will be celebrating “Halfway to St. Patty’s Day.”
The Tavern will be featuring Irish favorites like shepherd’s pie and corned beef and cabbage on its menu. Irish music will be on tap both Friday and Saturday evenings, with Ardaigh playing on Sept. 13 and Banish Misfortune on Sept. 14.
For more details, call the Yarde Tavern at 413-315-4339.
• No surprise here — IHOP’s “Pancake of the Month” flavor is pumpkin spice. The brand is offering its monthly griddle cake special in the form of a Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Stack, a presentation that features four pumpkin spice pancakes topped with a maple glaze, a layer of cheesecake mousse, and whipped topping.
Maple Pumpkin Cheesecake Pancakes can also be enjoyed as part of a breakfast combo; the pumpkin spice pancakes can be enjoyed a la carte as well.
There are IHOP Restaurants at the Five Town Plaza in Sixteen Acres and on Riverdale Street in West Springfield.
• Participating Friendly’s Restaurants are featuring a Clown Conehead Sundae this month. The sundae, which is made with vanilla ice cream, candy decorations, and a sugar cone hat, will be available through Sept. 30.
• On Saturday, Sept. 14, Diemand Farm in Wendell will be hosting its last “Lunch on the Lawn” event of the season.
A monthly summertime tradition at Diemand Farm, the “lunch” runs from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. The menu for September is “Chicken BBQ,” a package that include a half-barbecued chicken along with a side of mac & cheese, corn on the cob, and cornbread. Menu selections can be reserved in advance online.
Live music by 2 Car Garage is included in the “Lunch on the Lawn” experience. For more details, contact Diemand Farm at 978-5443806.
• In late August Dunkin’, the locally ubiquitous coffeeshop chain, joined the restaurant “value meal wars” by announcing its own $6 Meal Deal, a package-priced combination of a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Sandwich, a side
of Hash Browns, and a Medium Coffee.
Along with that value meal announcement Dunkin’ introduced a new beverage, the Dunkalatte, a latte drink made with coffee milk, and a new Almond Spice Coffee Dunkin’ has also brought back its Pumpkin Bakery collection (pumpkin spice donut, muffins, and munchkins) along with an Apple Cider Donut. These are joined on the chain’s fall season menu by a Maple Sugar Bacon Breakfast Sandwich, Loaded Hash Browns, and a Banana Chocolate Chip cake slice. All of the above are limited-time-only, while-supplieslast menu additions.
• On Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 6:30 p.m., the Deep Roots Distillery USA in Sturbridge
be followed by Mofongo con Tocino, a dish of mashed plantains and bacon sauced with a roasted corn cream.
Pernil y Arroz con Gandule is to be the main course; it’s a classic Puerto Rican spiced pork roast.
For dessert, Flan de Queso will be served.
Tickets for this event are $55 and can be ordered online.
Deep Roots is also introducing Sunday Brunch this fall. Brunch is served from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and features an updated-biweekly menu with options like quiche, baked French toast, and breakfast wraps.
Deep Roots Distillery, which is located on Main Street in the Fiskdale section of Sturbridge, answers at 774-2410045.
Dunkin' released its fall menu for 2024 with classic favorites, like the Pumpkin Spice Signature Latte, and new items, like the $6 meal deal and the Dunkalatte.
will be holding its first Gourmet Club Dinner, a series that is planned to explore cuisines from around the world.
The first Gourmet Club Dinner will start off with an amuse bouche of shrimp and grits which will in turn
Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community College’s hospitality and culinary arts program and has nearly 50 years of restaurant and educational experience. Robert can be reached online at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.
IHOP’s “Pancake of the Month” is pumpkin spice, which can be enjoyed by itself or as part of a breakfast combo.
Live Wire
will also showcase apple picking (of course), the farm’s own craft ales and wines and a pig roast.
The event runs from noon to 5 p.m., with The Wolves playing 1 to 4 p.m. Admission is $5. Outlook Farm is at 136 Main Road in Westhampton.
Next up is the North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival on Sept. 28-29 in Orange. This gathering, known humorously as the “festival that stinks,” showcases all sorts of activities, demonstrations, games and vendors, but also features plenty of music across two stages.
On Sept. 28, the main stage will have acts such as Ray and the Lovers, an Athol-based band that trades in funky grooves; The Secret Chord, a Leonard Cohen tribute act; Rippopotamus; and Not Just Rita Band. On Sept. 29, the stage will be headlined by the inimitable musical blend of TapRoots, which mixes everything from funk to soul to salsa to reggae, jazz, rock, and more. Other Sunday bands include the Mighty King Snakes and Ch’Chunk.
The festival runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days at Forster’s Farm, 60 Chestnut Hill Road in Orange. Admission is $10 for adults, $5 for students, seniors, and EBT, WIC, and Health Connector card holders. Children 12 and under are admitted free.
Last on today’s agenda are two similar events, also on Sept. 28: Amherst’s Salsa in the Park Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration and a Tribute to Women of Latin Music Dance Party at New City Brewery in Easthampton.
The Amherst event starts first, running from 6-9:30 p.m. at the Mill River Recreation Park (95 Montague Road). The celebration will be a free Latin dance social with salsa, bachata and merengue music played by DJ Picu under the pavilion. There will also be plenty of food at the event.
The dance party in Easthampton will likewise highlight women of Latin music honoring the queens of salsa, bachata, merengue, reggaeton and more. The event, which runs from 8 p.m. to midnight, will also offer an intermediate salsa class before the dancing begins. In addition, revelers can expect a special guest appearance by Damaris Rivera de Pagan from Jesús Pagán y Su Orquesta.
Gauthier
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song after performing covers at local open mics. When Gauthier eventually had the songs that would become “Drag Queens in Limousines,” she financed the recording and manufacturing with her restaurant income.
Today, Gauthier has released 11 critically acclaimed albums that have received several award nominations, including the Grammy for Best Folk Album. She has won an Americana Music Award, an International Folk Music Award (Folk Alliance) for “Album of The Year” and Americana Music Association’s UK “International Artist of The Year” Award.
Showtime at the Iron Horse, located at 18 Center St. in Northampton, is 7 p.m. General admission tickets priced at $30 and reserved seating priced at $45 are available at ironhorse.org.
Q. How does it feel to be recognized with an All-Star Tribute to you at the Americana Music Association’s AMERICANAFEST on Sept. 17?
A. What an honor. It is a time to reflect and experience gratitude for the blessings I have received. I feel deeply grateful that I am still in the music business. I started writing at the age of 35 and moved to Nashville at the age of 40. That’s nuts. Who starts a career in music at that age? In the beginning, I didn’t know if I would be able to make it sustainable, but somehow it worked. I get to keep doing it and I am super grateful for that. I got away with becoming an artist later in life and making it into something by the grace of fans and listeners that I can keep going as long as I want to.
Q. “Dark Enough to See the Stars” came out two years ago after an eight-year wait for your 11th album — where does the title come from?
A. It is a reference to something that Martin Luther King, Jr. put into his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech. It is a reference to finding hope in hard times ... sometimes we suffer and struggle to find purpose and meaning. Many of the songs written for the album were written with that in mind. Again, it means hope. Sometimes hope is buried and you have to go through hard stuff to find the reason. As people, we are built to find reason and sometimes we do find it when we need it the most.
Q. How did your 2018 album “Rifles & Rosary Beads” come about?
A. I participate in the nonprofit
“I
started writing at the age of 35 and moved to Nashville at the age of 40. That’s nuts. Who starts a career in music at that age?”
Mary
Gauthier
Songwriting With: Soldiers. We help veterans at retreats to articulate what they have been through. I have been with the group for about 15 years now, and this body work came from what I’ve done with them. It is an articulation of war from the perspective of veterans and their families, and I’ve written songs on the album with their spouses. I think it is a project that helps veterans and songwriters and helps civilians to understand what some of our service members have been through.
Q. Why did you decide to write your book “Saved By A Song — The Art and Healing Power of Songwriting” alongside your other body of songs?
A. I’m an avid reader, surrounded by books in my house and office. Since childhood, I’ve read and read and read and imaged myself one day writing a book. When a book deal became available, I jumped on it with the idea of using music and song for healing ... for more than just entertainment. That is my passion and what I do. I wanted to talk about the process and my experience with the veterans and how powerful it is to see a song in real time help someone with their struggle.
Q. The Associated Press called you “one of the best songwriters of her generation” with your songs covered by Jimmy Buffet, Dolly Parton, Blake Shelton, Boy George and so many others. How does that make you feel?
A. I think music and song and art are not the Olympics. We don’t do competition. I think that great art moves you and you love it. And being acknowledged as someone who moves people with their work and who has been nodded to by some famous and successful songwriters of our day is an honor, a privilege, a thrill. But there are a lot of great songwriters out there. They are all around me in Nashville where I live and being among them is really a privilege to be thought of as one of this group. I’ve always wanted to be a writer and now I’m an author and songwriter. I’m a serious writer and the fact that I’m not the only one who thinks so is a pretty good
thing. It means a lot to me to have such a quote and that journalists recognize my work as something that matters. And I’m grateful for that.
Q. You once said, “I’m the kind of songwriter who writes what I see in the world right now.” What do you see right now?
A. Well, I imagine we are probably about to see some big changes. The world is full of chaos and order, full of life and death, full of endings and beginnings. The challenge of any artist is to try to capture the times they are in ... coming through the pandemic and into my 60s. I have a lot to try to articulate and the best way to do that is through art and metaphor, rather than trying to write a good sentence which is just about impossible.
Q. Here is a long question that actually tells a story about “Drag Queens in Limousines” now being released on vinyl for the first time. You are in New York at a gig that didn’t go so well. Two of your friends wanted to cheer you up and brought you to a Manhattan restaurant called The Midtown Diner. The parking lot was filled with limousines whose chauffeurs were inside waiting for their next job. As you sat their feeling sorry for yourself, the door flies open and two drag queens in full dress order coffee to go and you learn it is a favorite spot of theirs. Your friends tell you, “This place is great. We love it here — it’s always drag queens and limousines.” And as you wrote on your website: “BINGO! The whole trip to New York City was worth it, just for that moment, hearing those words rang out loud and true to me as a song title ... and it worked as an autobiographical story song about coming of age as a gay kid in the South. If it wasn’t for that experience, you may not have been where you are today in your career. Thoughts?
A. Well, it certainly was more than I bargained for simply going there for some eggs.
I was the only one who reacted to the drag queens and what was going on around me. To everyone else it was something that happened every day in that diner. But it wasn’t something I usually experienced and I thought it was amazing and it led to the idea for a coming-of-age story, a song I called “Drag Queens in Limousines.” It really launched my career. Who thought a failed gig and a diner would lead to a song, a record, that launched a career?
Tickets at the gate are $20 for adults, $12 for children 6-12, and free for children 5 and under. Sunday through Thursday is Eleven-After-Five with tickets priced at $11 after 5 p.m.
float that we are calling Al E. Gator,” Cassidy said.
Attendees can also enjoy the fair’s 19th century Storrowton Village Museum with its historic houses and gardens lined with crafters, Eastern States Exposition Horse Show, Avenue of States featuring replicas of six New England statehouse buildings filled with local products, crafts and vacation information, The Big E Circus Spectacular with an international cast, Collector Car Live, Eastern States Farmers Market and Wine Barn, Barnyard Petting Zoo, Eastern States Exposition History Museum, North American Midway with three new rides — the Himalaya, Mississippi Train and Venetian Swings, street performers, and Better Living Center filled with all kinds of gadgets, gifts, and things to make your life easier and more fun.
The shopping continues in the Young Building, where visitors will find Ireland’s Dingle Peninsula Show-
case, highlighting some of Ireland’s finest handcrafted products, and cultural and educational connections of County Kerry and West Springfield.
Tickets at the gate are $20 for adults, $12 for children 6-12, and free for children 5 and under. Sunday through Thursday is Eleven-After-Five with tickets priced at $11 after 5 p.m. Senior Days are also offered Sunday through Thursday, with tickets priced at $16 for those over 60. A full-season pass is $70 for adults and $35 for children 6-12.
Opening day is Military Appreciation Day and is free for active duty and retired military personnel and dependents and veterans with ID.
But don’t go looking for their past Be a Kid for a Day on opening day when admission was $12 — that promotion is no longer available.
Gates open daily at 8 a.m., with most buildings opening at 10 a.m. For more information on hours, complete events, things to do and times, tickets, parking charges, how to get there and more, visit thebige.com.
This little guy is ready to be petted at the petting zoo at The Big E. (HOANG 'LEON' NGUYEN / THE REPUBLICAN, FILE PHOTO)