Coming from Wakefield, we found a way to the back parking lot. Rt1A in Beverly. No traffic at all. So $40 for 2 people to park and enter. Arrived around noon on Sunday. We tried to see the pig race but the stands were full 45 minutes before it began. The flower exhibit was a little boring until we saw the best single flower which was very impressive! Moved next to the the vegetable(fruit?) exhibit which was suprisingly good. Saw some very nicely grown things. The highlight was the nearly 2,000lb pumpkin and some gourds. Unfortunately, this was only one of two places cider donuts were available. And both were not cinnamon sugar donuts but were $10 for a dozen. Need to go elsewhere for those. Copperdome pizza was the surprise. OH MY GOD! I wish I could eat that everyday! I've been to Santaroios faucuis name you're house of pizza. Nothing will ever compare. Please start a restaurant. Preferably in the Stoneham area. One disappointing thing was I couldn't find bacon that was not maple. read more

Went to the Fair yesterday - the first Saturday - and had a great time as usual. I was there early, and was waiting to see the parade. It was raining fairly hard, but the people in the parade, especially the kids,didn't seem to mind. After the fair started, I went to to my favorite places - the Farm Museum/Grange Building, The Fine Arts building, and the vegetables building. Had my usual Turkey Dinner at the Topsfield Congregational Church Restaurant - thumbs up!. Stayed about 3 1/2 hours, was still raining for I left, felt bad for the volunteers but especially the people trying to make a living. One small suggestion to the management - please try to get a little better lighting on the photos on the "Massachusetts Farm Photo Contest" in the Museum Building! A lot of great pictures there, not quite enough light. read more

Amazing! visit the German Fries booth, then get a sausage sandwich.....Apple crisp. Apple Cider Donuts and Apple Cider......mmmmm

I always loved the Topsfield Fair. I think I was in my twenties the first time I went. But, when I went this year after not going for about eight years, I was disappointed. After parking in the Rt. 97 lot, I walked by the rides that still looked like a lot of fun; then started passing the food vendors, and more food vendors. Gosh, there were just too many!! I had to constantly refer to the fairground map to navigate to each exhibit hall, wading around all of the food stalls. The last time I went to the Fair, I could stand outside one hall and look out before me and see the others. There wasn't an obstacle course in between. My visit this year happened to be when some schools brought their classes. The kids were so excited and cute. This is who the Topsfield Fair is for. There are plenty of animals, food, rides and games for them. I feel the Fair has more of a carnival atmosphere to it now, whereas in the past, the food and rides felt secondary to the agricultural part. In the past, I would seek out the poultry and fowl barn. I enjoyed seeing the different breeds of ducks and hens. This year, my impression was that the cages for the hens were smaller as though they wanted to allow more competitors in the hall. Not much room for the poor birds to get any exercise. Another thing I missed not seeing were the larger displays of hand-made quilts and knitted items. Well, for me, I know I need to find a more "country" fair. As I said, it is still great for children. read more

We went to the Topsfield Fair yesterday. Yesterday was Friday but they still charged the 'weekend' entry fee ($15) because 'Fridays are considered the weekend'. Funny, they aren't anywhere else. Nice way to scam a few extra thousand, $4 at a time. The exhibits were much like I saw at the Fryeburg Fair, but smaller (fewer animals). The booths were overrun with 'as seen on tv' items or cheesy, crappy imported junk. Where were the artisans? I found a few in one building but far too few for someone who appreciates the unique and handmade over the cheap and mass-produced. Drinks were $2 for soda and water, $3 for hot chocolate and coffee and even those little 25-cent 'jugs' for kids were $1. They must be told the prices to charge because all were the same. After paying $7.50 for a single canoli I wouldn't even look at the cost of other foods. I can get a better canoli in the next town any day for $2!! We took my nephew to KiddieLand. When he was done we had a few tickets left over so his mother and uncle went to the midway to use the tickets on one ride - they wouldn't accept the tickets!! Both areas were run by Fiesta Shows and there was NO notice anywhere that the tickets were specific. All in all I feel like we wasted over $70 and I for one will never go there again. read more

This place is your typical fair with carnies, smelly animals and deep fried everything. Try to avoid going on the weekends. Its getting more and more expensive each year so try to get passes. I usually go every couple of years because its the same experience each time I go. Wear old boots if you can because there is dirt everywhere. read more

Love this fair, as good as it gets. I will go here every year if I am able.

A fun fair that attracts very large crowds from the greater Boston area. They routinely have the largest pumpkin of the year which is always fun to check out. Overall thay have a nice selection of carny attractions, animals, agricultural exhibits and junk food. A definite must for the family every fall. read more

My husband and I have made it a tradition to find a way to the topsfield fair annually. today, we also managed to make the short trip up to the fair grounds, and i have to say that i've had a lovely day among rides, games, vegetables and nubian goats. this is allegedly the oldest agricultural fair in the united states, and it shows. though it's not as big as the big e over by springfield, it has just about everything that i would enjoy about that fair, minus some of the things that i do not enjoy about it. first off, if you are planning to come, i recommend taking rt 35 north to rt 97 (i think). i rarely encounter traffic on this route, as opposed to taking rt 1, which can be quite a bumper to bumper nightmare. having arrived at the fair, and coughed up the 8 bucks for parking, and subsequent admission fee, it's wonderful to check out what is going on in the exhibition hall. today, my husband and i checked out the canadian mounties show (which was kind of like synchronized swimming for horses), a collection of clydesdales demonstrating their maneuvering talents, and an oxen pull, which i had never seen before. fair goers were polite and attentive to these 4H events, which was nice to see. we roamed the vegetable tents, and tried to get as close a smell as possible to each of the award winning produce exhibits, and also took a good, disbelieving stare at the prize-winning pumpkin, which they always have housed in a glass display of glory. you will also enjoy roaming the various animal tents: piglets, a huge building of soft rabbits complete with angora wool spinning display, the bovines, goats, alpacas, and a wonderful bee keeping exhibit, where the bee keepers are proud to let you listen in on the sound their hive of bees buzz through a glass window. education, and wholesome. until you get to the carnival rides/games, where it's just on. this fair also has your typical collection of rides and carnie callers, where you can prove your pitching command on a helpless pile of cans or shoot some water from a pistol into the mouth of a plastic clown faster than a naive fellow competitor seated nearby. all in all, the fair is charming when sticking to the more bumpkin type exhibits, in my opinion. definitely worth seeing and enjoying, and if you can, i recommend coming on a weekday, as the grounds are less crowded, and you may be able to see more up close. as is a requirement of yelp, here were the featured food items: the gobbler sandwich, german french fries, a hot dog, a funnel cake, a deviled egg, and some venison jerky. in the produce barn, we also picked up a pumpkin, some sweet corn (delicious), beets, dill pickles, and a pickled egg (my first, and yes, i will be back for more next year). read more

My husband and I visited last weekend on a Saturday night for the annual fair. It was $12 each for entry. We saw lots of live animals and I thought that was cool. My husband was bored. We played a few games. I didn't think it was anything better than your average fair. I think if you have little ones, you might have a better experience. We were lucky enough to park in some lot off of 97 so it was easy in and easy out. Years ago, I had come up Route 1 and we sat in soooooooooooooo much traffic that I wanted to hang myself. read more

It's a great venue for some of the stuff they have here ie pooch a palooza but for the fair itself I find it a little chaotic. Also for the larger events they do charge for parking which kind of stinks when you're already paying a lot for admission read more

The key to enjoying the Fair is participation. I am a volunteer for many years as well as a craft exhibitor. As an exhibitor you receive free admission to the Fair. If you choose to become a volunteer and actually work to make the Fair all that it can be you will also receive free parking. Volunteers arrive early in the morning and the traffic lines are minimal. Complete your shift assignment and stay and enjoy the rest of the show. Not everything costs. The craft exhibits in Coolidge Hall. and the Art exhibits show off the results of a years worth of effort on the part of the makers and some are downright spectacular. The shows in the grandstand and at the main entrance are free with admission and the Arena shows like the Mounted Police ride are very entertaining. I am a former exhibitor of both rabbits, pigeons and poultry. Always looked forward to the Fair every year. There is an auction at the poultry barn on the Sunday after the fair - to benefit agricultural students who are members of the FFA Future Farmers of America. Free parking and no admission to the auction - a fun event that funds participation in annual national competitions for our kids. Yes the fair is pricy if you are strictly an observer, but become part of the show and enjoy it twice as much. Show the world what you can make/sew/paint/cook/grow and have a great time doing it. read more

SAD ELEPHANT. I generally enjoy the Topsfield Fair- the food, rides and educational agricultural exhibits. However, to see the suffering of this beautiful wild animal, who has spent her life walking in circles with people on her back, just to make a buck for this traveling zoo, is depressing. Nothing like a little cruelty to ruin a nice day at the fair. The elephant, Beulah Mae, is elderly, and clearly not in good condition. Please, somebody get her released to an elephant sanctuary :( read more

We have been going to the fair for 15 years straight, but now, no more. A lot of cutbacks. No Clydsdale horse show, no bears exhibit. When the parade came by no one cleaned up after the horses left their markings, right where all the patrons were walking. Going into the arenas for the cows was a disgrace. There was no one to clean up the defecation after the cows, and impossible to continue through. Granted, this is a fair with animals, but in past years there was always a good amount of clean up crew available. Suffice to say, cutbacks. Sadly, we will not be back. Fewer animals, bigger mess. And the poor elephant, if she could run away, she would. Extremely filthy, and no one cares. read more

I felt I had to write this review seeing I did visit this fair last season and forgot to put in a review. This fair is just okay. It sits off 128 in Topsfield and (took an hour off the exit to get to the parking, horrible) and claims to be the oldest fair in the country (don't they all). The grounds it sits on are pretty small and consist of a bunch of buidlings with 4-H exhibits, farm animals and the regular fair stuff. There is a Midway of rides which is pretty good and of course plenty of fair food. The place gets so crowded that there is not much room to move in this small cramped parcel of land. The problem is the gate entrance fee is almost a rip off and there really isn't much to this place. I would say it is better then the awful Marshfield Fair I visited but still nothing compared to the Eastern States Exposition in Western Mass. That is the best county fair I have been to and is huge. As for this one, I could take it or leave it. read more

An awesome family place to go to or to go with anyone. The food is very overpriced but it is over all a nice place to go.

First, $8 for motorcycle parking is uncool. I can fit 3-4 bikes in a spot that fits one Yukon. $12 is worth it just to people watch. The carnies, the obesity, the amazing amount of culture clashing going on is very entertaining. Far too many hot tub salesmen there. The agricultural barns are amazing, especially the birds of prey exhibit. read more

4.5 stars, my first time going to the fair, had an absolute blast!!!! however, i noticed that prior to going i was looking for information and had a hard time getting information on the pet bunnies for sale. so, my review will be mainly geared towards this, but i will give my basic experience too. the little tokens you get to enter the fair are so cool, i wish they'd let you keep them- They need the information booth up closer, or at least have the maps nearer the entrance. i had to wait ten minutes for my mate to get back with maps and guides before we could even start the day. the clown cars driving around are a riot and are a lot of fun blowing bubbled everywhere. the food all smelled amazing, prices, SHY-HIGH. i got a root beer float which was delicious. there were two places to get it, and i guess there is a rivalry which he was not afraid to mention to me at checkout. my mates sausage pepper and onion was 7/10 and i wish i knew the name of it but it was across the way from the Money Pole. and we shared a blooming onion. the blooming onion was HUGE and was difficult for three people to finish. too greasy, and i didn't like it very much, but i guess it was typical fair food. caught the last 5 minutes of Nerveless Nox which was really cool, and next year i will make sure i get there with enough time to see the whole show. the agriculture building was fun to browse, and was cool to be able to see all the competition winners from opening day. the golden pheasants were beautiful, and i enjoyed watching them as well as the duck display the poultry barn itself was way more interesting than i had anticipated, and the birds were all clean and neat. every fifteen minutes or so a worker would clean out a section of cages, or to feed and water the animals. the baby chick handler seemed knowledgeable and polite, and i really liked holding the baby chick, i just wish there were more fair workers supervising these kids holding the chicks, there was one rickety old farmer and a line of 30 or so kids waiting. he did however, not allow more than two chicks out at a time, but still, he needed a few people helping him out. the rabbit/cavi barn was what i was really looking forward to- those poor sad cavies! their cages seems clean and neat and they looked healthy and all- but they were behind a dingy piece of plexi glass with no signs or workers pointing out anything, breeds, colors, anything! they seemed lost and forgotten in the dimly lit corner of the room. my mate didn't even notice them and it wasn't until later that he even knew it was there. i was hoping to learn a little about them, but was disappointed. the bunnies however were spotlighted, and very clean and friendly. the workers were friendly but was disappointed to find out that the people at the pet a bunny booth were not the bunnies owners and were just fair workers. i was expecting something a bit more personal. the angora demonstration was wonderful, but it was a bit awkward to stay and listen for more than a few minutes. the lady doing the demonstration made no attempt to reach out and engage peoples curiosity, paired with the long line of people behind you made it difficult to sit and watch anything for more than a minute. that being said, i did enjoy it for the few moments before it became uncomfortable. i wish i could have spent more time looking at the information tags on each cage, but like i said, you get shuttles along the one way paths fairly quickly. the bunnies ranged in breeds and seemed happy. i do not know if this varies much year-to-year, but i tried to find prices before going and nothing ever came up, but noticed the smaller bunnies were as cheap as 30$ and the larger ones up to 100$. they came with a cardboard carry home box and a wire-bottom cage, which we all know is BAD for feet. all the cages had wire bottom, but most also had an insert of plastic or cardboard to make sure that the bunnies didn't actually stand on the wire. rides were scary for me, but my mates had a blast. the games were typical fair games, but being my first time i was in awe- i felt like a little kid with all the lights and smells, and the little clown cars blowing bubbles- it was a blast. i plan to go every year. next time, i will bring more time and money. this time around was good to get an idea of what it was all about. it would have been better if i went for an entire day instead of getting there at 2 ish. lots of fun! read more

I have attended a couple of years now and have had overall good experiences. I go mainly for the animals and agrarian stuff, not so much the carnie rides and vendors. If you can't go during the week I have found the second of the two weekends is best to minimize crowd exposure. However, if you care about the flower displays the first weekend is imperative. This year I went on the first Saturday and aside from the crowding, also found that the rabbit and cavy exhibit was significantly cordoned off as judging was still in progress. Additionally, the birds of prey exhibit appeared to be missing entirely, which was disappointing. We've had no issues parking at the Masconomet High School in Boxford ($5 to park) and taking the shuttle bus in and out of the fairgrounds. read more

Love the Topsfield fair! Great food and agricultural displays. Giant pumpkin is a fav. Just saved myself 40% by purchasing pre-fair tickets at the ticket booth at the fair - ride tickets also, totally worth it! Just go to the fairs website for all the info. Kellie Pickler is free with admission! I love her. I can't wait to enjoy this annual favorite with my family. read more

Been a fair goer for years but I've reached my limit this year. Price gauging is our of control and there is no value left for the consumer. The fair organizers really need to get a handle on the independent vendors. $9.00 for a bake potato, I certainly understand capitalism and fair trade but really...have some connection to the actual cost! read more

I purchased a groupon that allowed entry for four people to the fair. However, before I purchased this groupon I called the Topsfield fair directly to find out if the two couples could enter at different times, knowing we would not be able to get there at the same time. They assured me that this would be absolutely no problem. I was told that when they scanned in the groupon it would only take off the two tickets and when the second couple arrived it would still say we still had two tickets left. However, when we arrived (the second couple) that was not the case. They wouldn't honor the groupon and said all 4 tickets had been used. We asked to speak to a manager and explained our phone conversation. The manager was extremely rude and did not even offer to honor our groupon or even a simple apology for the mix up. I can't believe how we were treated that day, and truly at the fault of one of their employees. I am honestly only writing this review in hopes that they take the time to educate their employees on their policies so that more people like myself don't feel disrespected or waste money on a groupon they would not honor. read more

I love the Topsfield Fair. It's fun to walk around, eat a bunch of junk food and watch the pig races. Good times for adults and kids alike! WARNING though...And I admit this was my fault for falling for something too good to be true. In one of the barns (not sure what it's called) but it's the one with all of the various products for sale..hot tubs, and as-seen-on TV stuff, etc. There was a table that had a raffle for a $50 Lowe's Gift Card. The people standing at the table specifically said "It's free, no obligations, etc." The small form asked for address, phone number, and email address. There was no company name or small fine print, nothing! So several weeks later I get a call from some vacation/time share thing. They left a voice mail saying "We're calling regarding the entry form you filled out at the Topsfield Fair." I called back and the guy didn't even know anything about the Lowe's Gift Card. It's a complete fraud! It's just a way to get your info so they can call you constantly. And they called me nearly every day for several months afterwards. Even though I said to stop calling. It's been almost a year and they STILL call from time to time. They don't take NO for an answer. DO NOT fill anything out at the Topsfield Fair. This company should have disclosed who they were and then let people decide if they wanted to fill out an entry form. It was very sneaky. I don't understand how that's even legal. It's so sketchy and fraudulent. Disappointing that the Topsfield Fair allows such shady companies and don't have standards of who they let in. Stupid me for falling for what seemed to be a legitimate raffle. read more

I expected it to be crowded today, but never could have imagined the insane amount of traffic getting there! It took three hours to get there from Randolph, more than two of which were spent traveling the 2.5 miles from the highway. Then all of the parking lots were full! We thought our day was ruined when we passed all of the parking lots and made a turn to head back home. We aren't familiar with the area and stumbled upon someone charging cars to park in their backyard, which worked out fine. Unfortunately, there really wasn't anything special about this fair. I stood in line for a spinach and cheese calzone (one of only three items on the menu) and was told they were out of them. Also, there were bees everywhere around the food and picnic area! Even after sitting in traffic for hours, I still had high hopes. I figured if so many people were willing to waste away the day in traffic, it must be worth it. It wasn't. Don't go - you're not missing anything and will save yourself a bunch of time and money. read more