GREENFIELD — The Great American State Fair may have wrapped up its 16-day celebration of America’s 250th birthday, but according to Donna Festinger, a retired teacher from Greenfield, the impacts of the event are still being felt.
Festinger, 72, took it upon herself to drive down to the fair in Washington D.C. to staff the Massachusetts booth. Each state had its own booth with some decorations supplied by Freedom 250, which was established by the Trump administration as a public-private partnership tasked with planning several semiquincentennial events.
The Greenfield resident said she was amazed by how people across the state rallied to support her, sending supplies and traveling to the nation’s capital to help.
“The people of Massachusetts really stepped up,” Festinger said. “They wanted to participate. I do not understand why Healey decided not to be involved because I think it was a disservice to the citizens of Massachusetts.”
Festinger had not originally planned to go to D.C., but after hearing on the news that Gov. Maura Healey did not intend to send a delegation to represent Massachusetts at the Great American State Fair, she wondered whether she could go.
“I heard it on the news, that Healey wasn’t sending anybody from Massachusetts. It bothered me all weekend and I kept thinking about that,” Festinger said. “I wondered if I could just go down.”
Massachusetts was one of 10 states that did not send representatives to the fair, with the others being Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Illinois, Washington and Oregon, according to Newsweek. Officials in states that opted not to attend cited budget pressures, competing priorities, scheduling constraints and concerns that the event would be partisan in nature.
Festinger said the decision was a mistake, as she believes an official attendance would be good to promote Massachusetts tourism and the local businesses, as well as celebrate the state’s role in the American Revolution.
“The reason I did it is because Massachusetts was one of the original colonies, and to not be represented at the 250th birthday is absurd,” Festinger said. “We fought the revolution right here. … I felt it was important.”
She researched the fair on the Freedom 250 website, signed up to be a volunteer and asked around to see if any maple syrup producers had any samples she could take with her to distribute. Hunter Sessions of Winston’s Sugar House in Buckland then bottled hundreds of syrup samples and coloring books to fill the trunk of Festinger’s Toyota Camry.
One nine-hour drive later, Festinger was in D.C.
She said she didn’t know what to expect heading into the fair, but she was impressed by how helpful everyone was. Festinger said Freedom 250 staff helped her unload the cases of maple syrup from her car, and delegates from the New York booth assisted her in setting up and rationing her supplies so she had enough giveaways to last throughout the 16-day fair.
“They were very well-organized,” Festinger said of Freedom 250. “They helped us out, kept coming every day to make sure everyone was OK.”
Greenfield resident Donna Festinger with Linda of Winchendon at the Great American State Fair in Washington D.C. Credit: CONTRIBUTED 
The Massachusetts booth at the Great American State Fair was filled with stickers, flyers and other materials brought by volunteers. Credit: CONTRIBUTED 
Greenfield resident Donna Festinger took photos with attendees of the Great American State Fair in Washington D.C. Credit: CONTRIBUTED 
Greenfield resident Donna Festinger, center, at the Great American State Fair in Washington D.C. Credit: CONTRIBUTED
Festinger said she was too busy at the Massachusetts booth to see as many of the other states’ booths as she would have liked, but she did get to see a few. She said she thought the Texas and New Hampshire booths were very well done and she was impressed with projections of the Johnson Space Center in Texas.
Over the course of the 16-day fair, and as more and more people heard that Festinger went to represent Massachusetts, they came to help and brought goodies.
“People across Massachusetts started showing up,” she said. “The booth just seemed to grow.”
Cookies and brownies from Ginger Betty’s Bakery of Quincy, 3-D-printed keychains, flyers and tourism brochures, and banners highlighting the Boston Red Sox and the Big E were among the items brought by volunteers who came to help Festinger. Even a few historical reenactors — one dressed as Deborah Sampson, a woman from Plympton who disguised herself as a man to join the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and another as Founding Father James Madison — stopped by, as well as the Massachusetts GOP.
When people would come by the booth, Festinger would stamp their fair passport, take their photos, and tell them about Massachusetts and describe the different regions, from the coastline to the river valley and mountains.
“I was telling them how it’s a beautiful state. We have the coastline, we have the Connecticut River Valley and then we have the Berkshires,” Festinger said. “I would tell them I was from the western part of the state, because most people think of Boston.”
Festinger said the rivers of the valley are among her favorite things about living in Massachusetts, along with the people.
“I like the people of Massachusetts because they’re friendly and helpful, without being overboard,” Festinger said.
She added that she was also impressed by the other states that were represented by private citizens like herself, and she highlighted that both Pennsylvania’s Republican Sen. Dave McCormick and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman worked to secure private sponsorships to fund their state’s booth after the governor announced the decision not to participate.
Festinger said that driving down to Washington D.C., running the booth for more than two weeks and driving home to Greenfield was exhausting, but it was a rewarding experience and she enjoyed meeting so many people. She said she is already keeping in touch with some of the friends she met there, who now plan to visit Massachusetts.
“I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” Festinger said. “I’m glad I did because it worked out.”
