More Exciting Events

“Agriculture is our culture,” President and Chief Executive Officer Eugene Cassidy of Eastern States Exposition reminds us. For over a century, we have celebrated the farms that supply our local populace, define our community’s way of life and build a foundation for our future, seed by seed. These hardworking hands have passed down agrarian legacies from generation to generation with a sense of pride. We honor the country folk that sow, harvest, and raise livestock in our region year-round with utmost admiration.

Eastern States Exposition’s Agriculture program at The Big E has representation from 32 states and two provinces. This level of participation far surpasses that of any other fair or agricultural event nationwide. It is our responsibility to use this outreach to give a voice to the farmers, which is why Eastern States Exposition has partnered with a few close friends of ours to highlight their work and discuss what it is that makes agriculture their culture.

ESE introduces Commissioner Randle and Kadzik, two women shaped and bettered by their foundational experiences in 4-H.

Commissioner Randle is a fifth-generation dairy farmer, and she was sworn in as the twenty-first MDAR Commissioner by Governor Maura T. Healey in 2023. Prior to her role, she served as Deputy Commissioner/Legislative and Policy Director since 2018. Now, she is the first woman to lead the department. She credits her involvement with the Franklin County 4-H Dairy Program and many days at The Big E with refining her passion for agriculture. These days she lends her talents as a licensed Massachusetts attorney and knowledgeable agriculturist to the entire Commonwealth.

Lizzy Kadzik of Huntington, Mass., is a senior at Gateway Regional High School and plans to study nursing in college. At school, she plays varsity soccer and softball. Kadzik has been a member of Hampden County 4-H since 2021, and she shows dairy cattle through the program. She has been exhibiting at The Big E since 2022 but has been a fairgoer for longer. Kadzik was first acquainted with Commissioner Randle when she joined the Agricultural Youth Council, an initiative started by the commissioner.

"The Cecchi family once exhibited produce at The Big E when Bobby and Michael were children. Now, they supply fresh produce to the Moses Building for 4-H students to enjoy while they dorm during the Fair."

Erminio and Anna Cecchi first started their farm in 1946. The first greenhouse was erected in 1947, and it stood for 50 years before it was replaced with a modern model. The current farm stand was constructed in 1953. Erminio’s son, Robert Sr., ran the farm with his wife, Emily, through the 1970s-1980s. Now, his boys, Robert Jr. (Bobby) and Michael, continue the family business.

"Yankee Rock Farm was founded by sweethearts brought together by a shared passion for showing competitive livestock and living their days in bucolic bliss. "

Mutual interests found Swanson and Siegmund at many of the same events, including a fateful sheep sale in Ohio where a spark turned into a flame that burned all the way back to the East Coast. For five years, the couple merged their separate flocks to the best of their abilities, but Yankee Rock Farm became tangible in 2024 when they purchased “the old Rutter farm” in Champlain Valley, Verm. The rest is modern history

Meet Maureen “Mo” Freniere: Deputy Director of Sales at Eastern States Exposition by day and farmer/caretaker by night.

Take a trip to Prospect Valley Farm, a Freniere family-owned-and-operated beef and dairy farm in Westfield, Massachusetts. Our very own Maureen Freniere provides a brief history of her business, her love of agriculture, and shares why Eastern States Exposition is paramount to her family’s mission.

Mike Antonellis recounts how Ciesluk Farms of Deerfield, Massachusetts, survived one of the greatest natural disasters in local history: the flooding of 2023.

When Mike Antonellis lost 65% of his crops to stormwater surges, the future of farming looked bleak for him and other agrarian businesses in Western Massachusetts. He reflects on the hardships he endured and the salvific Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund relief effort by the state and proud sponsors, like Eastern States Exposition.

“It’s not a family farm–it’s part of the family,” states Gordon Cook II, recipient of The Big E’s 2022 Agriculture Adventurers Award.

Cook Farms in Hadley, Massachusetts, offers delectable dairy and beef products, such as their homemade ice cream, through their storefront: Flayvors of Cook Farm. To the Cook family, agriculture is fiscal stability, holistic education, and a labor of love–above all, agriculture is their culture.

"A tale as old as time: the dairy farmer and the sheep farmer fall in love at a state fair. "

This year, Scott and Moira Poitras celebrated 23 years of marriage–a marriage that took place on The Big E fairgrounds! For even longer than that, these two and their respective relatives have upheld the farming traditions that are embraced by Eastern States Exposition, right down to our mission statement.