WESTFIELD – Despite the freezing temperatures that have settled into the air, spring will be here before we know it and the Littleville Fair is preparing for an event that will shake the winter blues away this April.
A penny social is scheduled to take place at Huntington’s Stanton Hall on the evening of April 4 with doors opening at 4 p.m., and the actual event running from 6-9 p.m. Refreshments and snacks will be available for all visitors and patrons, and there will be raffles held throughout the evening.
At a penny social, or Chinese auction, attendees purchase a ticket and place it in a jar in front of a desired item.
Proceeds from the penny social go toward the running of the Littleville Fair every summer and, according to Littleville Fair Vice President Cathie Browns of Chester, the social will only be as good as the number of donations received.
“We’re a non-profit, so every little bit helps,” said Browns, who has been involved with the Littleville Fair for 10 years. “Last year we raised about $900 from the social, with another $300 from the sale of snacks and beverages.”
Browns added that the event typically brings in between $700-$1,000 every year and that, for a penny a ticket, you can’t go wrong.
“Everybody wins something. It is a great family event,” she said. “We hope to make over $1,000 but it all depends on how much money people have to spend after buying their oil for the winter.”
Gift certificates to local restaurants are generally a popular item at the social, along with baskets of groceries and Browns hopes that residents and local businesses will donate clean new or slightly used goods to the social.
The event is known for drawing folks in from near and far.
“Last year we had about 70 people in attendance,” said Browns. “And from as far away as North Adams.”
This year’s event will raise funds to help fix the roof of the Littleville Fair’s building in Huntington and Fair Secretary Muriel Boisseau of Westfield is hoping that the social will go a long way to aiding that ailing structure.
“It is terrible. It leaks constantly. We’ve patched it and patched it, it’s just been let go of,” said Boisseau.
She said that last year’s fair featured rides, a truck pull and an exhibition hall with animals, along with the customary food and drink for sale to attendees.
“We had a couple hundred people,” Boisseau said. “We’d like to get that many again to the fair and as many as we can to the penny social too.”
