Festival Profile: The Big E
John Juliano, special events director of the Eastern States Exposition (better known as The Big E), gives his insight on the effect of high fuel costs, the Green movement, and how we can walk all 6 New England states in one day. The Big E took place September 12-28 in West Springfield, MA. For more information go to www.thebige.com
Provide a brief history of The Big E.
We’ve been in Springfield, Massachusetts since 1916 and we’re the 9th largest fair in North America according to Billboard Magazine: we draw over 1 million people every September. Last year was second largest fair ever recorded as far as attendance. Friday through Sunday our average day is 100,000-150,000 people, but we can have upwards of 150,000 on one given day. Our mission statement is agricultural education and providing great family entertainment.
List notable artists who have performed at your festival.
We’ve had people with a history like Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn and over the past few years we’ve had Faith Hill and Trisha Yearwood when they were first starting out. We had Reba McIntyre back in the 80s when she was first starting out and we’ve had Destiny’s Child when they were opening for Christina Aguilera. We’re also one of the few festivals that booked Jessica Simpson when she was in the prime of her career. 
What makes your festival unique?
Something unique we have that no other fair has is something called the Avenue of States. Participating states (Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut and Rhode Island) each have a building on the grounds almost precisely to scale, and they own that property. You can literally walk the 6 New England states in one day. When you go to Vermont to get your maple syrup, you’re actually going to Vermont. It goes food buildings, Avenue of States and entertainment buildings in terms of ranking our top attractions. We’ve been here a long time. We’re a New England tradition. Growing up in this area I’ve been coming here since my parents were pushing me in a stroller. It’s a tradition for people living in this area; we draw people from upper Maine to southern New York and all across the country.
How have high fuel costs affected your attendance and ticket prices, if at all?
September is hurricane season and some of them have hit us with bad weather and with a hurricane comes high gas prices. We draw people within a 100 mile radius and with people staying close to home for vacations they’re more likely to attend their region’s fair for entertainment. With the tradition of the Big E, people will still come. We’re not looking at a huge impact within our 100 mile radius.
Tell us a personal highlight of the festival that you've experienced.
Something that’s unique to us is our daily Mardi Gras parade. We actually own 8 floats that were built in New Orleans by Kern Studios, the makers of all the floats you see in Mardi Gras. Back in 2000 a highlight was starting that parade and being very involved with our president [Wayne McCary]. Without his help and insight it would have been impossible but he and I teamed up and we went to New Orleans and we spent a few days down there and I actually worked the Mardi Gras parade for a week and learned how they did it, so we actually do a real authentic Mardi Gras parade every night here at the Big E. We throw upwards to 300,000-400,000 beads every year and 70-80 people on the floats every night.
What do you see as the biggest issue/problem in live entertainment today?
Consolidation. Consolidation of venues, consolidation of agencies, and promoters. It’s a problem for the smaller buyers; we’re the 9th largest fair in North America but we only buy talent for 17 days. The big promoters are out there 365 days that they have availability for. So, the biggest problem is that the consolidation has put us in the back seat in trying to book acts early on, doing marketing and scheduling.
How have you adapted (if at all) to the "Green" movement?
We have, little by little. We’re using paper products and recycling more than ever before. Our waste distribution company has been very involved and it’s something new for the fairs but we are getting more and more involved every year. We’ve changed to more efficient lights, and we’ve received quite a few dollars back from the upgrades.
Where do you see the live events aspect of the industry in 10-20 years?
What I would like to see is some of the new artists that are out there coming up today, really try to go out there for a fan base. Playing the small venues, playing the fairs playing the festivals and building a fan base because it just seems to me that the new artists don’t really get the personal touch opening for 15,000 people as you would playing a smaller venue, doing a meet and greet at a festival, building a fan base. If you want to have a long career, the fan base is a very important part of it. The things they do early on; signing that autograph, shaking that hand is just as important as them playing on stage.