We paid a visit to the 207th Topsfield Fair, which runs from Oct. 3 to 13, 2025. Descended from an 1820 “Cattle Show,” it’s billed as “America’s oldest,” and its arrival each year feels like one of the hallmarks of autumn in New England. These days the fair hosts contests for giant pumpkins (Alex Noel of Abington, Connecticut, set fair-record last week with a 2,507-pound beast!), cattle, horse and oxen pulls, poultry, beekeeping, flowers, crafts, art (our 12-year-old won an honorable mention for his still life painting of a pumpkin) and so on. We toured the animal and plant barns, all the bounty of the harvest, watched the death-defying motorcycle stunt show, and were honored to meet 2025 American Honey Princess Emilia Burnham in the Beekeeping Barn (where we always enjoy spotting the queen bees).
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