GREENFIELD — One hundred and seventy-seven years is a long time to keep a tradition going, but for the organizers of the Franklin County Fair, the event is a piece of local history, and putting it on each year is a way to celebrate the county’s rich heritage.
And so, the theme of this year’s fair, which kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 10, and continues through Sunday, Sept. 13, is “History Grows Here.” Michael Nelson, president of the Franklin County Agricultural Society that manages the Wisdom Way fairgrounds, said the theme is a play on words referencing Franklin County’s agricultural history while also recognizing that this year is the nation’s 250th birthday.
“It really places emphasis on the agricultural aspect of our fair,” Nelson said. “The fair has been a big part of Franklin County’s history. … We’re not quite as old as the country, but we’re catching up.”
Nelson said the Franklin County Agricultural Society is continuing the trend set over the past few years of expanding entertainment options, particularly for children. In addition to musicians and roving entertainers such as Pirate Man Dan and the Dinosaur Experience, the fair will include shows from the Flying High Frisbee Dogs, Flippenout Trampoline Shows and Thrill Extravaganza. Nelson said Thrill Extravaganza showcases acrobatic skills and death-defying stunts, filling a need patrons have requested for years since the Joie Chitwood Thrill Show, which featured gun and auto stunts, stopped performing.
“We have the most robust entertainment lineups we’ve had this year,” Nelson said.
He added that 2026 will be the first year the fair has had its new mascot, Franklin Cow-nty, promenading around the grounds and saying hello to attendees.
“We’re very excited to debut Franklin,” Nelson said. “She’s been to several other events held at the fairgrounds, but this will be her first fair.”
Nelson said something he looks forward to is seeing his 6-year-old son and favorite volunteer enjoy the fair that he has helped to curate. His son has accompanied him to check out other fairs, view acts and displays, and help set up the fairgrounds.
“He’s never known a world without the fair,” Nelson said. “He puts a lot of sweat equity into it. … Just seeing him as he’s grown and how much he embraces fair culture, it’s been really heartwarming.”
Throughout the fair, attendees will have a chance to show off their skills by exhibiting livestock and produce, or crafts and baked goods submitted for display in the Roundhouse, or by participating in contests, including hot dog, wing and fried dough eating.
The annual hot dog eating contest, hosted by Tom’s Long Hot Dogs, is set for 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12. Gary Kloc, of Tom’s Long Hot Dogs in Whately, which has sponsored the contest for the past nine years, said tradition brings the hot dog stand back each year.
He said he enjoys walking the grounds, seeing all of his regulars and kids enjoy the fair, and everyone’s different approach to the hot dog eating contest.
“Everybody seems to have their own technique, and some just try to have fun,” Kloc said. “I couldn’t conceive eating more than two myself.”
Kloc said Northfield resident Ed Laraway, who has won seven times in the past eight years, is a difficult competitor to beat.
Francesca Passiglia, teen librarian at the Greenfield Public Library, has been running a Roundhouse craft group at the library with local artist Danielle Lucier this summer. They held 14 free classes at the library from June through August to help people prepare to learn new skills and work on items they could submit to exhibit.
Passiglia said Lucier taught classes to 180 participants that involved painting still lifes, linocuts, embroidery and other artistic endeavors. The library also held digital entry clinics to help people submit entries through the fair’s online system and, for the first time this year, held a finishing clinic where people could come get tips and advice on final details.
It’s been great to see people use the library’s Makerspace, Passiglia said, and she can’t wait to see all of the completed works on display.
“This is our third year running the Roundhouse program with the Franklin County Fair and definitely the most successful. It’s a program I look forward to all year as it brings in such a wide variety of participants (fair lovers as well as library users). It’s a joy to watch people attend art classes in the Makerspace,” Passiglia said. “Quite often, participants are learning a new skill in a room full of strangers. By the end of the two hours, they’ve made new friends, gained confidence and had a lot of fun. In an age where we are all working to combat a loneliness epidemic, the library’s Makerspace is a place where everyone can come together.”
In the Roundhouse, attendees will be able to view award-winning crops, honey and maple products, baked goods, drawings, quilts and more.
General admission tickets to the Franklin County Fair are $15 each, and $10 for children ages 9 to 17, senior citizens over the age of 60, and active-duty military members and veterans. Demolition derby tickets are $5, or $10 for early entry to the grandstands. Gates open at 3 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and at 8 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
On Saturday and Sunday, a free shuttle bus will run from noon to 9 p.m., carrying people from the Olive Street Parking Garage to the fairgrounds on Wisdom Way. Parking on-site at the fairgrounds will cost $10.
For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit fcas.com.
