Glow Hartford is definitely geared toward children (as is to be expected, but perhaps a tad more…read morethan expected), with lights, light swings, hoppity-hop areas, color-changing pads they can jump between, a small train, and some photo ops that kids will love. It's all indoors and warm, which is a plus for New England winters, but personally I'd rather find local outdoor light displays instead. For the lights themselves, the standout for most kids was probably the hanging "icicle" garden -- rows of lights you can walk through, which seemed to get the biggest reaction. Do it early enough next year, and you may even get a decent shot or two in time for your Shutterfly or equivalent Christmas card. The snack options were fine, and there's alcohol for adults, though some things are a bit on the expensive side. You'll probably also end up giving in to some of the add-ons -- glowing cups, light-up wands, or similar extras -- so your kid isn't the only one without one. (Maybe prepare yourself with a preemptive "OK, but just ONE.") The self-stamped passport activity was a nice touch, and the PEZ dispenser prize at the end was a cute detail. All in all, it's an OK experience and a nice family option if you take advantage of everything inside. I'd call it 3.5 stars -- fun to do once, but probably not something I'd make a yearly tradition.

"Morning glow, filled with light You can make the whole day…read morebright" (Michael Jackson) Glow is a family-friendly indoor winter festival of lights currently open in five Canadian cities, Eugene Oregon, and good old Hartford, CT. It was a beautiful display of color and design, highlighted by plenty of dazzling lights in the shape of iconic landmarks from around the world. If you ever hoped to see Christmas lights in the shape of the London Eye, Eiffel Tower, Asian temples, Taj Mahal, the Louvre, and London Bridge... well you'll be amazed at the images you see here. Complementing the visuals are bars, rides, food, photo ops with Santa and the Grinch, live music, and a vendor trade show. Plenty of kiddie activities too - a bounce house, train ride, glowing swing sets, and games. We saw quite a few families with kids of all ages, including a lot of strollers enjoying the show and taking advantage of the hundreds of photo ops. No doubt many of the pics will end up on next year's Christmas cards. All in all, this was a very enjoyable experience.

Weekend fun. We like to Visit this festival almost every…read moreyear. First visit is to the delicious apple fritters stand. OMG its just a very popular treat, eating it as soon as they come out its an amazing experience. We noticed how popular this festival is becoming and more people visiting every year. The stands and food vendors are always great. We stopped to watch a few dances too. It was a bummer that they didn't have a second parade, most people gather for that but its only once over two weekends event. Until next time

The annual Southington Apple Festival occurs in the fall for 6 days and on two weekends. In the…read moreNortheast, it is one of the longest and largest festivals. There's plenty of activities for the 100,000 people that visits. There were plenty of food tents, a parade, fireworks, carnival rides, arts & crafts, live music, and more. There were parking ordinances throughout. I saw many lots charging a fee and free parking throughout. We were able to find free parking at a municipal parking lot, after some driving aorund. The event was packed! I had apple cider margarita at a booth with live music. Also, I had apple crisp with vanilla ice cream from a church; both items were good! My family had a fun time at this traditional event and glad to have checked it off our list.

Loved it! We took the kids for the first time this year. Parking was FREE (and close), adult…read moretickets were $8, and kids under 54" free. We went on Sunday when they also had an early bird special (10am-2pm) where all rides were only 1 ticket each. I believe we paid something like $30 for 35 tickets, and actually ended up giving 4 away b/c the kids did all they wanted to do. Great rides too! Hubby and I agreed that we'd enjoy making this fair apart of our family tradition. It's just the perfect size, has everything you love about fairs w/o the large crowds. The highlight of our time there was the corn eating contest! What a great time! See you next year Four Town Fair!

Sorry Four Town Square, won't be back. Where to begin, the good thing about this fair was that…read morethere was plenty of parking and direction. The ride there was nice. Great country to drive around in. We took all the back roads. We watched the Shooting on horseback which was the only thing that was good. Now that I know the shooters put on their own shows I have no reason to go back to this fair. Onto the bad... pig races. The commercial building had nothing of any interest in it. All very low level flea market stuff. The animal building only had a few cows, some goats and pigs. Not a very big showcase at all. There was very little in the way of education such as antique farm equipment and virtually no history behind anything. This fair consisted of all food booths and kiddy rides. We stopped at a booth to get a cup of "fresh squeezed" lemonade and some fried dough with sauce. Fried dough with sauce was inedible due to the horrifically bad sauce. Ended up in the garbage. $6 wasted. $7 lemonade was terrible. Did not have enough lemon to it and very little sweetness to it. Overall the fair was one of the worst I've ever been to. I would think better of it if it wasn't $10 a ticket just to get in.

Fun to walk around. Local products of all kinds. Animal competitions and food. Some wine tasting in…read morepast years. A nice way to spend the last summer days before everybody goes back to yearly drudge.

Great local fair with fun demo derby!! Great vendors and food. Worth bringing the kids too…read more Admission is a bit expensive but everyone has to make their money! Worth the trip for sure!!

I just enjoyed an afternoon at the festival. Great food, fun music and so much for the kids from…read morebounce houses to dancing. The trucks I experienced: The Grub Guru 3.5 star - the gen gau was amazing, crispy and sweet. I had wanted orange chicken, but they didnt have it despite it being on the menu. It is an Indian truck and the rice was listed as fried rice but it was clearly basmati. It was not good. I have to say their drink prices are some of the most reasonable at the festival. Ts Jerky House 5 star - the bbq sundae with cornbread, beans, and smokey brisquet was amazing. Topped with crispy onions for texture. Elote corn 3 star - I tried the buttered lime but there was no lime. The corn was definitely best of the season. Shitakaberries 5 star - we opted for something sweet and this was great. We got the reverse tiger, dark chocolate with white drizzle. 7 bucks for 5 berries on a stick. It was definetly about the experience. TC Scoops 4 stars - we each got a single scoop and a topping for 4 dollars. It was just ok, but my bf loved the cherry. Reds 5 star - really personable. Reasonably priced, especially the drinks, which is what drew me there. He realized he ignored me and gave me the drink free of charge. A definite place for customer service.

Excellent location for a huge amount of food trucks! Several adult beverage outlets as well as…read morequite the variety of cuisine. My only suggestion would be to make the sizes of the items smaller so you can try more of the vendors.

What a wonderful surprise! This alpaca farm exceeded all our expectations. My family and I had such…read morea great time here. We discovered it on Yelp and knew we had to make it a stop during our road trip. We're from Seattle and love exploring New England every fall, and this farm has definitely earned a spot on our must-visit list for years to come. We can't wait to return next year!

Visited the farm again this fall and it did not disappoint. Feeding the alpacas is now with a small…read morecharge ($5) but totally worth it. I love seeing the animals here.

This is an annual apple festival (this year was year #21), without apples! No apples anywhere! And,…read morenot in any recipes...no apple cider, apple turnovers, apple dumplings, or apple pie. There were hot dogs, coffee from the local Pierce Bros. (pretty good), and Kettle Corn, but NO apples! What a shock! There were also, as promised in the title, local artisans selling reasonably-priced local honey in bars of soap and lotion, stained glass, goat's milk soap, and Emu oil soap (ick!), pottery, clothing, angora scarves (with the Angora Bunny right there in a big cage!), as well as kids activities. This was like a country fair, and really cute in the town green, but we were slightly disappointed because we wanted some apples or something delicious with apples. So, we went home and drank our apple cider. Sometimes what you want is what you have! ;)

Go to the fair! One…read morereason is that they have candy apples. Candy apples taste so good. Another reason is you can also go on rides. You can go on the rollercoaster. The fair is in Amherst. You can go in the spring. Little kids can get lost. Make sure to stay with your mom and dad!

The Blandford Fair is a true small town country fair, held each year on the three days of Labor Day…read moreweekend. It's been a part of my childhood, my youth, and my adult life, and I hope it will be for many years to come. In the interests of full disclosure, although I don't work for the Fair, I have plenty of relatives who volunteer there. In fact, I've been told that it's really a family reunion cleverly disguised as a country fair... That's not quite accurate, but I must confess that I'd just closed the car door today when one of my aunts called my name. Blandford is a small town (in population), and it's a nice compact fairground. The two short midways offer an assortment of games and foodstuffs, with relatively little overlap between vendors, but plenty of variety. Fresh lemonade is here; burgers are here; fries are here. In addition to the long-time fair staples of fried dough and soft-serve ice cream, other cuisines have appeared in recent years. The fair's own kitchens produce some amazing meals as well. I tend to favor the booths of the local organizations - the Legion, the Boys Scouts, the Fire Department - but certainly other vendors get my business each year as well. The horse show is a favorite, as well as the pulling contests for teams of horses, oxen, or ponies. Go on the right day and you'll see tractor pulls, and even a demolition derby. In the exhibit halls, local farmers and gardeners still submit their best produce for judging, while the photography contest has grown each year in contestants and in quality. There are cows and chickens to see, pony rides, and craft vendors. The midway rides will make you wish you hadn't eaten quite so much, but you'll be ready to eat again when the scent of frying wafts past. Today I spent quite a bit of time enjoying the fiddle contest, which included some amazing musicians. Set atop a mountain ridge in western Massachusetts, it's a beautiful spot for a relaxing day. Check it out.

gorgeous setting, wonderful small town new england fair…read more great place to visit over the labor day weekend.