Berlin Fair Brings Variety of Food, Rides, Booths, Agriculture
By David Huck | Correspondent at October 3, 2023 | 9:30 am | Print
Pull on the boots: Tractor and animal pulls, rides, fried food, animals, and local harvests will be on display at the town’s annual fall bash, the Berlin Fair.
The fair, which ran as the Berlin Harvest Fair from 1882 to 1919 and was revived by the Lions Club in 1948, takes place on Beckley Road Friday Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 5.
“We’ve really been working hard to make this the best fair yet,” said Fair superintendent Gary Bienkowski. “There’s something for everybody: from the animals to the baby chickens to the rides and the food and entertainment— theres literally everything for everyone. We try to have something going on every hour.”
One of the new features of this year’s 66th running of the fair is that the Lions Club will be collecting perishable food items at the main gate. All of the goods will go to the Berlin Food Bank.
Several months ago the organization ran a food drive to collect meals for the more than 70 families that the local food bank supports. The several hundred items were suppose to last several months, but the shelves were quickly emptied, club members say.
“We have 40,000 or 50,000 people come through the gates,” Lions Club member TJ Campanelli said. “If every person brought one item, that would be a tremendous help.”
A majority of the proceeds that are raised at the fair go back each year to local charities, according to Bienkowski.
Visitors will notice some new sites at the fairgrounds. Two buildings were taken down and replaced by a new structure for adult exhibits. The new building is about 40 percent larger and fair organizers say they are expecting have more entries than in years past.
A kitchen was also installed at the lower beer booth near the antique tractor barn, which will attendees to purchase fried goodies close by. The Lions Club has will also take over ownership of a donut trailer as the person running the booth is retiring and decided to give his operation to the charitable organization.
Fair organizers say that if the weather holds up on Saturday, they are expecting to beat last year’s three-day attendance, which was around 60,000. Area fairs, including the Big E, Durham Fair, and Hebron Harvest Fair have all set or came close to breaking attendance records this year, fair organizers say. Last year, the Berlin Fair set an attendance record on Friday, but a rainy Sunday dampened the three-day attendance total.
Among the other new or returning entertainment will be a graffiti artist, bull riding, homemade truck pulls, a high wire performer, a canine show, and motorcyclists racing in a drum. There are of course plenty of rides and games for children. “The midway is bigger and better,” Bienkowski said.
Campanelli, who is the superintendent of the poultry barn, said that almost every barn is at full capacity with farmers bringing in their animals to show. “In the chicken barn, there are maybe three or four empty cages,” he said.
Another new event organizers are hosting this year is as scarecrow contest that’s open to children’s and adult organizations, businesses, and families. The top three winners will get to donate prizes ranging from $25 to $100 to a charity of their choice.
In addition to the usual favorites like lobster rolls, donuts, hotdogs, fried dough, fried Oreos, loaded baked potatoes, and “freedom fries,” new food items this year include southern fried chicken, fried pizza rolls, andouille smoked sausage, and a fried dough double bacon cheeseburger. In all, there are 22 different non-profit organizations selling food, along with a handful of other vendors.
There will 10 different artists performing throughout the weekend at three different locations on the fairgrounds. Performers include LoCash Cowboys, the blues rock band Cross Eyed Cats, classic rock band Vinyl Revolution, the Rick Derringer Band, Bus Drivers Band, and the Stone Canyon Band. Other artists include the Mike Crandall Band, Cynthia Fabian and Company, Tommy Whalen and the Ragged Edge, and the Danny Dreher Band.
LoCash Cowboys is a country act that has performed at the NBA Finals and at the Olympics. They perform at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
The fair is open on Friday, Oct. 3 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 4 from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; and Sunday, Oct. 5 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Admission for adults is $12, $8 for seniors, and children 11 and under are free.
Advance tickets can be purchased for $10 at Kensington Auto Service, Kensington Opticians, Matson Rugs, and Rogers Marketplace. Shuttle buses leave from Connecticut Light & Power on the Berlin Turnpike and Assa Abloy at 275 Deming Road.
There is also a mobile app available for the fair in the iTunes and Google Store that provides schedules, food items, and other information.
