Topsfield Fairgrounds — Attraction in Topsfield

(1)The "Topsfield Traffic" flaggers were operating a PARKING RACKET this past Tuesday 10/8/24 evening. They wouldn't let arriving patrons park on the $15.00 per car, Fair-Owned Lots (A Lot & C Lot). Traffic was light & there were at least 1000 empty spaces on the A-Lot & plenty of open spaces on the C Lot. THEY ALSO DID THIS TO DISABLED /ADA PATRONS VEHICLE'S REFUSING TO LET THEM PARK IN THE A-LOT WHICH IS IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW. Instead, the "Topsfield Traffic" Officers/Flaggers physically blocked the entrances to these lots by show of authority & verbally yelling "no entry" and aggressively flagged /herded arriving cars down Rt 1 one block to the first side street on left to go down that road to park in private property lots at $20-25.00 per car! The private lot owners barked & snarled to pay the higher cost to the cars ahead of me which they did due to the confusion caused. It appeared they were doing this to get the private lots business. The flaggers with "Topsfield Traffic" patches on shoulder sleeves (whatever their title is) either knew the owners of the private lots or were friends with them. I turned around & got back onto Rt1 & was given a dirty look by the "Topsfield Traffic guys standing on Rt1 since I didn't pay to park down the side street. I was then flagged into the Co-Op(C-Lot) by an employee/civilian parking lot attendant when the RT1 'Topsfield Traffic' Flagger in front of that location was looking the other way. Very SHADY & UNETHICAL & UNDERHANDED & also an ADA Federal Law Violation since they blocked the ADA lot as well.-(2)At ADMISSION BOOTH@Rt1 front gate, they had obsolete technology at least 15 years old(one of those small strip portable scanners with a single wire attached to the PC) that couldn't scan a "Chip" debit/credit card & made patrons withdraw $$ from the nearby ATM so they could pay to get inside. They never said this beforehand on webpage. Luckily I did, but other patrons wouldn't have had the option to use the ATM to withdraw cash to pay admission. The employees there are trash & went out of their way to be hostile to patrons and give them a hard time for no reason. The Fair Director, Manager, & the Police Chief never responded to multiple complaints about this. The Fairground is presently under state investigation by the MAAB for the blocked ADA...

Topsfield satisfies all of your fair cravings. It's not Texas or the Big E, but it's got animals and rides and fried foods. Parking sucks. Expect to pay $10 and walk on the road. Also expect massive traffic getting in and out of the place if it's a sunny weekend, I recommend getting here early.

Admission is $12 on a weekday, $15 on a weekend. If at all possible, I recommend going on a weekday because the lines are shorter, less traffic, easier and cheaper parking, and it's just a lot more enjoyable when there isn't 50,000 other people trying to pet the same goat as you. If you're military or senior, they have designated days when the admission is waived.

My favorite part of the whole fair are the animals! They have pigs (smelly), lots of chickens, ducks, turkeys etc. Sheep, goats, rabbits, cows, horses. One sad looking elephant and a camel, both available for short sad rides around a short sad circle (the things we do now for a photo). Watching baby chicks hatch has to be the coolest thing ever. It's not for those in a hurry but wow what magic can unfold before our very eyes! The petting zoo is a must do and they have hand washing stations nearby. Quarter machines are available to buy feed for the animals. They even have a guy there that gives you change!

Food is really really bad for you. All fried, overpriced, and to be honest doesn't look so clean. When in Rome I guess. But take it easy if you don't want to end up in an ambulance in a few years.

Rides are super expensive and the ticket system does not even make sense. They sell 4 tickets for $5 and 20 tickets for $25, so there is really no discount for buying in bulk. Unless you want to buy 55 tickets for $50, which is hardly even any discount. No single tickets are sold. If they offer an unlimited ride bracelet, perhaps consider doing that but after looking at all the rides, the only one I was interested in was the zipper and that was 5 tickets. Since I didn't want to pay $10 for a zipper ride and throw away the other 3 tickets (3 ticket rides were pretty lame), I opted to not ride anything. With a season pass to Six Flags that cost about $56 and can be used all over the country for 15 months with way bigger thrill rides, why would anyone pay $50 for ten...

First off if I could give 0 stars I would!

I had bought tickets for entrance, show, and rides online pre-fair. It turns out it rained the day of the show, and they have a no refund or other day re-entry policy. The woman in administration actually told me -and I quote- "well I can't control the rain now can I?" I have worked in customer service in my office for over 10 years and if ever anyone I worked with was this unprofessional they would be written up or let go. Anyway, I know people can not control the weather but you can control a tiny piece of paper. Since I spent 140 on tickets and 10 on parking and another 80 on the ground for my kids to buy some junk at the show and snacks for the show and we only stayed the hour for the performance (which was one of the worst shows I have ever attended. DO NOT GO TO THE MONSTER TRUCK SHOW) It was so cold and rainy I had to get my 3 young kids out of there as soon as the show ended. I am quoting the administration woman again with "AT LEAST YOU GOT TO ENJOY THE FAIR" yes I got to thoroughly enjoy the fair in my hour hour visit with cold wet children. I will remember my "enjoyment" for the rest of my life especially as I go to the Deerfield fair instead. I will be sure to pass along my "enjoyable" experience to friends, family, acquaintances and every person who mentions possibly going.

One last disappointment- The poor elephant, even the circus has given up its elephant acts as they are highly sensitive and intelligent creatures yet the Topsfield fair still has him/her tied up rain or shine and yes the elephant was out there in the freezing rain on my...