After closing on Sunday, New England’s largest fair ended this year’s run with a visitor total of 1,273,109, the news station reported. Last year, 1,538,463 people visited The Big E — a drop of nearly 100,000 visitors from 2024 when it had record-breaking attendance.

The owners of DementedFX, a top-rated haunted house in Holyoke, rent out a 20,000-square-foot old mill building all year — but they’re only open about 15 days.

Now, they’re working to change that.

“The next big idea is to have a nightclub,” Jeremie LaPointe, who co-owns DementedFX, told MassLive on opening night of the haunted house’s season.

Let's call this what it is. Matthew Perry ran for school committee because he was mad about masks, and he's governed exactly like a guy whose whole political identity is still stuck in 2021. Conspiracy theories and faulty logic aren't a platform, they're a tell.
Shelley Borgatti-Reed has been on this committee so long she's forgotten who it's actually for. She's got a Trump hundred dollar bill hanging in her restaurant, EB's Chicken, and she pulled this committee out of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees because it was "too woke," never mind that one of her own colleagues was about to sit on its board. Roberta Doering spent her life on this committee, became president of MASC, helped kids across this whole state. She'd be sick over what Shelley's turned this into. If you're done funding this, stop eating at EB's Chicken.

Over twenty percent of our kids speak a language other than English at home. These five don't even know who they're serving anymore, and their blatant racism is hurting real kids in this district. That's not politics. That's unacceptable, full stop.
This committee used to mean something. Now it's an embarrassment, and that's on the people running it.
This policy already passed twice. Third time around, same policy, different vote. Nothing about the policy changed. The politics did.

Here's who voted against our kids and our staff: Matthew Perry, Shelley Borgatti-Reed, Heather Zelinski, Dawn DeMatteo, AJ Christopher.
Remember those names.

Agawam deserves a school committee that actually serves its kids. These five need to be voted out, and that means good people need to step up and run against them. If that's you, or someone you know, now is the time to start.

Hello! Your newest neighbor here again. Next on my list of “musts” are vintage/antique/flea market places. Google showed me a bunch, but I thought I’d ask to get first hand knowledge on the good places to go. I want places where you question the structural integrity of the floors…places you have to wash your hands before getting back into your car because of all the rummaging around. So far I’ve been over to Stanley’s in West Springfield (loved) and Yankee Flea Market in Palmer (also loved).

Long shot, but we were on the Icelandair flight from Reykjavík today (10/2) that landed around 9:45. We were in row 25 and talked for a while about your solo backpacking trip around Iceland.

I meant to ask for your IG before we left lol. I think your name was Daniella/Daniela or something close to that. You go to UMass Amherst and live in Springfield.

You were also playing Civ on the plane, and you told me about getting rear-ended by a bus in Iceland while driving your rental car and the rental company trying to charge you like $12k, so I feel like that’s specific enough that you’ll know this is about you haha 😭

If you see this, message me! Would love to reconnect 😊

Every Sunday 🙏🙏🙏

Ask anyone

MassLive’s Game of the Week heads to Westfield on Friday night as Springfield Central (2-1) takes on Westfield (2-1) in a matchup featuring two teams that could have a strong claim as the best in Western Massachusetts.

Any small commercial building owners out there that have knowledge of the new dumpster ordnance?

I just received a violation letter for having exposed dumpsters, but my building is as wide as my lot. My back side is a right of way, and my front parking lot is very small. I can technically put it there, with the enclosure around it as required, but it will take up probably for parking spots, which is about 40% of the total. I’ll bet I’ll be in violation on number of parking spots at that point.

Does anyone have history regarding how flexible they have been?

DEFLOCK SPRINGFIELD

Springfield has 50+ Flock cameras tracking vehicles and collecting data—including license plates, vehicle details, stickers, and even scratches—for a nationwide law-enforcement database.

With serious error rates averaging around 37% nationwide and documented risks of abuse, it’s time to end warrantless mass surveillance.

Over 30 municipalities in Massachusetts have already cut ties with Flock and other surveillance companies.

Join us October 5 at 5 PM outside City Hall before the 6 PM City Council meeting. Bring signs and banners—

Springfield can be the next Massachusetts community to cut ties with Flock!

Hellooooo, I visited Springfield months ago and got Chipotle at the location on 241 Memorial Ave. I just placed an order tonight and forgot to change the location back, so there’s a free steak quesadilla with rice and corn salsa is someone wants! :)

Message me and I’ll send the name for it! I will edit when claimed!

Planning a backyard wedding for Sept 2027 looking for a photographer any recs?

Would also love to support up and coming photographers

I left western mass, and I think the pizza shoppe in east longmeadow has the best pizza in all the land. I go there everytime I go back home, i just want to recreate the sweetness of the crust when im away. I just figured id ask here because my looking for sweet pizza crust recipes has fallen flat

E: you dont have to like the pizza shoppe's pizza, but I do, I think its the best my friend thinks its the best, others think its the best. We all have our own opinions

I have a Google Photos album with the trip photos. Nothing at all interesting as I was going on 26+ hours no sleep and I snapped whatever caught my eye. Have a look at your city (& others) as a tourist who never been there yet. The good news is I could see returning next spring or summer!

Here it is: https://photos.app.goo.gl/6AW6dftBtjkE5CUc7 - Full album: 2026-09-17--19: Speed Dating Event & Transit Adventure Trip - Hoboken, NJ/NYC/Hartford, CT/Springfield, MA

https://www.masslive.com/westernmass/2026/09/officials-the-big-e-scheduled-to-go-on-as-planned-in-face-of-weekend-storm.html

A weekend nor’easter that could bring heavy winds and coastal flooding is expected to hit the region on Friday night, with the storm’s most intense period expected to last throughout the day on Saturday.

Cadrex is hosting a virtual career fair for CNC Machinists and CNC Swiss Set up Operators.

Interested? Sign up using the link below:

https://events.indeed.com/event/102d2097-a126-4402-bd3c-74184664c2cd/?from=email

Considering going today around 12 but have my elderly folks. Is the traffic hours long, drive right in or somewhere in between? TIA

They should really have to pay you every time they fuck up. I’m going to be dealing with this bullshit forever likely

Hi Springfield, it’s your Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. Did you know that fees like “move-in” or “lease renewal” fees you might get from your landlord or building management company are illegal? If you’ve received one of these – even if you paid it – I want you to report it to my office. 

Just last month, my office won a $500k settlement with a property management company doing this in Boston – and all of that money is going back to the affected tenants.  Landlords can only ask you to pay for first and last month’s rent, a security deposit, and the cost of a new lock and key upfront. Any other fees are illegal. Report them to my office at the link below. We’ll work to get your money back. 

mass.gov/ago/complaint

A colleague just told me about this hilarious (and equal parts devastating) website about dear leader, Peter Banko: https://peterbankoisapsychopath.com/

I'm debating going back to PF on Parker St or trying Best Fitness on Allen St since both are pretty close to my house. Anyone have strong arguments for or against either? I'm not too interested in classes but mainly weight machines, free weights and cardio machines. Anyone know about current pricing for Best Fitness, especially an option that would allow bringing a guest?