My boyfriend's 8 year old twins are Fraidy Cats! So, I had to find something special to do with…read morethem for Halloween that was non scary, so that we could take his other 2 kids to a Haunted House w/o them feeling left out. And I stumbled upon this place. It couldn't have been more perfect! The day started at Castle Hill Farm (Hayride/Corn Maze and Pumpkin Picking), then we came home had lunch and carved 2 glorious pumpkins! Entry to the festival was 1 carved pumpkin/kid +1 dollar for the candle. Entry included 10 Trick or Treat Stations, games, balloon animals,bouncy house obstacle course (what?), dj, hula hoop contest and of course there was food for an additional fee, a very reasonable fee. All the kids were dressed up, it was fantastic. But when night hit is when it raised the festivities another notch... all the hundreds of pumpkins were lit up for viewing and it was pretty freakin cool if I do say so myself. What was even better we were able to retrieve our pumpkins at the end of the night. FYI: THIS MAY BE THE LAST YEAR AS THEIR FUNDING "IS DRYING UP". THAT WOULD BE SUCH A SHAME.

I am writing to talk about their Spring Food Festival. I am…read morewriting to tell you to go, even though it is over, and you'll have to wait until next year. This year's festival was 5/12-14, "A Taste of Greece." I am writing to say that the lamb was succulent, the gyro perfect, the baklava just the right touch of honey and crisp, the spanikopita generous, the avgolemono soup ("Greek penicillin") just the thing I needed to help conquer my stomach flu. The dessert selection huge. The little Greek ladies strong and proud. They even had a take-out window for those who wouldn't have time to eat in. It's a great cause, not a new idea, but a wonderful one, nonetheless. This area doesn't have so many Greek restaurants, but it is wonderful to have a festival like this to enrich the cultural expanse of the area and to introduce folks to Greek food -- not just Greek food but wonderful Greek food -- and double as a fundraiser for the local Greek orthodox community, who I can only imagine as similarly vibrant. I will be back next year! And I will bring friends!

Yesterday the Spring 2012 Festival Started. The Shrimp Scampi Santorini was delicious served with…read moreGreek-Style Green Beans... I'm going back to have more from their menu before the festival ends this Friday!

OMG! This is a must…read morevisit when you are in the Simsbury Granby area Cash only this farm is beautiful! The grounds are stunning and the product is second to none The smell of garlic when you walk in the barn, just hit you like a punch, and you are just drawn in to heaven Well, the tomatoes weren't ready yet. The corn sure was and it looks great. I bought two ears along with of course, some garlic and some jalapeño peppers. The friendliest of farmers he is so knowledgeable and informative, and the young lady running the register was so polite and also knowledgeable Bring your camera, bring your smell of vision and enjoy this beautiful farm

This place is a dream! The owner is so personable, warm, generous and inviting. The farm store…read moreitself is like walking through a magical cave of wonder. The bright colors demand your full attention! The quality of the vegetables is so fresh, and the options are abundant! The field of flowers is a place one could run through and get lost in play. The sounds, smells, and visuals are truly magical and inspiring at so many creative levels. This farm store is at the top of my list in town and I look forward to dancing in the fields again!

Festival Farm is old fashioned country fun. my grandchildren love the train ride and the animals…read moreare so cute. Definitely make the short trip!

Pros: cute animals, nice little general store, a few friendly staff, feed for animals, a few ride…read moreon toys , trikes and slides, little train,House for future santa visit, yummy things to buy. Cons: muddy area where ride on toys are, not cleaned off after rain, big sign saying kids shouldn't run or yell?? (Kids do that if they are small and having fun!) general store had overwhelming cigarette smell when you walk in when we were expecting cookie or donut scents. No one manning train or not running? I'm sure in spring through fall it's better but December you need to bundle up! Wear boots or old shoes for mud. We will try maybe again in spring and hopefully the smoky smell issue will be resolved because that is inappropriate for the public and a turn off.

This was my first time going to the Big E! I've been wanting…read moreto go for many years but always forgot about it whenever it was the time of year to go and I always dreaded the thought of driving 2 hrs to Springfield lol. But I decided to go this year! If you're able to go during the day on the weekdays, it's the best because lines aren't long for food and attractions. It was still VERY busy though on a Tuesday afternoon/evening. We hit up a couple stalls that we heard were great: - Nola's Kitchen for their lobster tail - Porky's for their BBQ split - Fields Fields Blueberries for their blueberry crisp w/ vanilla ice cream - Janik's Pierogi Cafe for 4 pierogis (potato + farm cheese, buffalo chicken, & 2 cheeseburger) - Clam Shack in RI House for their seafood stuffie & 1/2 doz. crab cakes - Del's lemonade & blueberry lemonade from RI House - Danny's Smoke House: loaded baked potato - harpoon apple cider & Italian ice cooler To keep this review from being a novel's length, I'll try to keep it short! My favorites that we tried were the seafood stuffie from Clam Shack, lobster tail from Nola Cajun Kitchen, & the blueberry crisp w/ vanilla ice cream from Fields Fields Blueberries. This was a fun carnival vibe! I liked the variety of food from all the New England states. We were here from 3pm-8pm and had a blast. We got to see some line dancing, a parade, & a free circus performance (one of the performers was a finalist on AGT). They have an entire separate area for carnival games + rides. Overall, I would definitely come back again & can see why it's well loved. Food is on the pricey side though & small portion sizes but most of them were pretty tasty, way better than typical amusement park/carnival food. Parking: Gate 9 is their only public parking lot (all other lots need a special pass) & is $10/car for the entire day. There are also a bunch of houses and businesses in the area that offer parking ranging from $5-$20 but I thought the Gate 9 parking was fine. There's a path within the lot that leads to the entrance & exiting was easy. Experienced no traffic.

The Big E is Massachusetts State Fair and opening day was last Friday, September 18. My husband and…read moreI went to it and arrived around 1:30 pm. Because there was so much traffic on Memorial Avenue, we decided to just park in one of the other lots on the side because it would just be easier to get out later on (but if you do park at the fair, it's $10). We paid $15 and was well worth the extra $5 since we did not have issues getting out when we left in the evening (we left around 7:30 pm and stayed for 6 hours at the fair). Admission is $20 (but discounted admission tickets were sold a few weeks before through Rocky's Ace Hardware, but since we aren't from the area, we just paid the regular admission). The Big E is smaller the the Los Angeles County Fair (back home where I live) but definitely can say I had more fun. This fair is really interesting because they did have a parade with floats (and people throwing out green, yellow and red necklaces as it was Mardi Gras). There were also horse shows and competitions which is something we definitely don't have back at home in Los Angeles. I really enjoyed watching the horse competitions since this isn't something I have seen in ages (only when I was kid). Also it was so cool to be so close to a lot of the livestock/ animals. But especially the Clydesdale horses (you might know them as the Budweiser horses with the hair around their feet, which is known as feather or feathering) at the fair and also in the parade. My husband and I got a chance to try Downeast Cider's Big E Cream Puff. I found out from this Cider cidery that they make a special hard cider flavor every year for the state fair and this year's is the Big E Cream Puff (which cost $14 prior to tax and $14.88 after tax). It was amazing and I truly loved it. But my husband thought it was a little too sweet and preferred the Cider Donut (which was last year's hard cider flavor for the fair. And it was so popular that they brought it back to be apart of their fall flavors). The Big E Cream Puff cider taste just like a liquid cream puff, so smooth and really nice on the tongue. And since we were having some adult libations, we also got some food. Because I didn't want fried food, I ended up getting Big Kahuna's Lamb Gyro Bowl (which cost $18 prior to tax and $19.80 after). It was a good size portion that was perfect for both my husband and I to share. But I didn't like that there were no prices or hardly any signs to let you know what you can really order at Big Kahuna. I just went up to one of the employees and I asked him what kind of options are there if I did not want a gyro. He told me that he can do a gyro bowl. I asked if I could di half salad and half rice and he said absolutely. So I did that (and he also told me it was $18 for the bowl when I had asked). I really did enjoy this bowl but would probably ask for less of the tzatziki sauce because there was just a lot of it. I enjoyed seeing people's entries for their baked goods (although there were a lot of bugs inside the glass cases though and would not recommend getting too close), knitted/ crocheted pieces, landscape competition (the LA County Fair back home has the table setting competitions which I always look forward to seeing) and other artwork submitted by both youth and adults. But I really feel like the LA County fair back home has more of homemade items than here. Overall, my husband and I both had a great time and am so glad we were able to check out The Big E state fair and were lucky enough to have visited Massachusetts during the time it was open.

I don't see the date of this balloon event posted anywhere, other than another poster that says to…read morearrive on the 1st day = Friday night...? I really want to go to this festival too.

The evening glow was really underwhelming. There were only five balloons. The park was so crowded…read moreyou could hardly move. The food vendors seemed overwhelmed. My son waited over one hour for a Philly cheesesteak. The fireworks were awesome. The logistic support for the parking and shuttle system were handled really well. Been there, saw the balloons. Don't need to go back.

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.

I try to come to this fair yearly. It is always a good time. This year we had to pay for parking in…read moreadvance, which was $7.38. Not too bad and I didn't mind if this means I get close parking. We went on day one and no body check for the parking ticket. Just let me drive on the lot. Felt like I wasted extra money on it. I love seeing everyone in their costumes. The food can be expensive but all fair food is. The best food would have to be the bourbon chicken. But it's a fun time to get dressed up and hang out with friends.

Came over here to spend the holiday with our daughter while she's in university. She was looking…read morefor things to do in Connecticut. It was our 1st time and man was it fun. I highly recommend you bring cash most of the food vendors prefer cash but a lot of other places take card and Apple Pay. The staff and event goers were so fun. You can bring your pets for a small fee. Costumes are recommended but not mandatory and there is plenty of costumes to buy there if you change your mind. There is something for everyone. I highly highly recommend you bring lots of sunscreen , sunglasses, hat, comforter sneakers or shoes to walk in, baby wipes / flushable wipes, and hand sanitizers. A lot of the Porter potties did not have toilet paper. I was so lucky that I always carry these on hand. If you over 21 and drink do not skip the booth that's selling Mead! I recommend getting the 8oz traditional one with honey I went back 3x on how good it was and man was it strong make sure your eating and have a designated driver that's how strong it was and sneaks up on you but definitely delicious. The turkey leg was so yummy tasted like ham and turkey was very yummy reminded me of universal studios turkey leg chef kiss! Definitely must try. There's lots to do fun activities and definitely worth going I definitely want to go back.

My wife and I decided to visit here about 6:30PM on the Fourth of July. Normally we stay inside…read morebecause we hate holidays where everything is closed but we were delighted to find out this place was open. The entrance to the farm kind of sneaks up on you fast; the whole place appears much smaller on the outside, but once you pull in and get to the gravel parking lot, you realize how much bigger it is inside. There was live outdoor music playing and kids laughing and cheering while playing with the nearby caged animals. This place was a great vibe. We weren't particularly hungry so I can't comment on the food, but we did take a walk around and paid for a quart box for blueberry picking. This was our first time and we had no idea what we were doing, but soon enough we filled up our little box very nicely. I recommend you bring some Off or some kind of bug spray if you're anything like me and bugs love buzzing around your ears. Inside the one of the barns was their stores and I picked up a bag of caramel puff corn and a delicious Apple Cider slushie. Everyone was very friendly. Overall we had a very good time here, and I hope to come back on an empty stomach so that I can try out some of their cider donuts.

Recently discovered this hidden gem. Always saw the signs on the road, but never dropped into see…read morewhat it was all about. Amazing Orchard, great shopping facility, outdoor food, fireplace... It has it all going on. This location is amazingly popular and I'm surprised after living in the area for one year I'm just now discovering it. Definitely will return for more exploration. Great place to bring kids. Make sure you pack your wallet with plenty of cash. You won't get out of here cheaply.