
1,354 views
The Hardwick Community Fair, billed as "The Oldest Agricultural Fair in the United States," is held each year on the Hardwick Town Common and celebrates its 264th year in 2026. Admission and parking are both free. The two-day program pairs juried agricultural and creative exhibits — cattle, eggs, field crops, flowers, fruits and vegetables, home baking and canning, fabric arts, photography, art, crafts, a homebrew contest, a Lego contest and a scarecrow contest — with heritage demonstrations in blacksmithing, pottery, timber framing and stone cutting. Signature events include a lumberjack contest, an antique tractor and implement parade, tractor pulls, a children's parade and games, frog-jumping and horseshoe contests, a road race and mountain bike ride, hay rides, a Kids' Adventure Trail and the closing auction of exhibits. Food trucks, a Tri-Parish Church baked potato bar, the Farmers Guild Burger Bash and a Fieldcrest Brewing beer garden feed the crowd, with live music from The Otters and an evening contra dance in the Town House.
Other public events whose dates overlap with this one.
Massachusetts Fairs and Festivals in 2026: Your Complete Guide
A month-by-month guide to every major fair and festival in Massachusetts for 2026 — from small-town agricultural fairs in the Berkshires to the Big E and Topsfield Fair.
Apr 18, 2026
September 2026 Fairs in Connecticut and Massachusetts: A Weekend-by-Weekend Guide
September is the busiest month of the New England fair season, and Connecticut and Massachusetts carry most of it. Every fair and festival of the month sorted by weekend, with the two weekends still ahead marked — the Big E, Old Deerfield, Durham and more.
Sep 4, 2026
Granite State Fair 2026: The Fair Most People Still Call the Rochester Fair
The Granite State Fair, formerly the Rochester Fair, runs across two separate September weekends in 2026 — September 17-20 and September 24-27 — with the grounds closed in between. Here's what's on, and why the split schedule catches people out.
Sep 4, 2026