The Big E celebrates Rhode Island Day

WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Tuesday was Rhode Island Day at The Big E.

We visited the Rhode Island building along the Avenue of the States and made our way into Blount Clam Shack, where Mark told us all about the clam shack and why they are so well known at the fair and across Rhode Island.

“Yes, so hi, so uh, we currently have been at Warren since 2007. We have been very popular with making our chowders and soups much longer then that. We have been for about 75 years now. Today, we are making our clam cakes, we make our house-made spicy tartar sauce. It has a nice little zing to it, gives a nice little sweet taste after it, a really good combination. We also have our clam chowder, a white creamy chowder. It’s really famous. If you add the clam cakes to it, simply a perfect combination,” Mark explained.

[Reporter: when people stop by the Rhode Island building, they are really getting a taste of Rhode Island, right?]

“Yes, they will and we also have scallop stuffies. It comes in scallop, shrimp, lobster. It’s a buttery mix, it’s very flavorful, and you don’t need sauce. It melts in your mouth,” Mark added.

We then went from seafood to literature and visited Fedman Publishing, where Jim had a pretty interesting lineup where, he said, they are embracing the weird of Rhode Island.

“Well, my grandfather, his name is C.M. Eddy Jr. and he was a Providence, RI author. He wrote for the Pulp magazines back in the 1920′s...weird tales and some of the other stories. I rediscovered all of his orginal manuscripts that we had stored away, so I started a small publishing company to put out his works,” Jim explained.

[Reporter: Having the family connection in it must be so important for you to keep this history alive]

“Yes, it is and people appreciate that and they like hearing about the history of everything,” Jim added.

That was just a small taste of what the Rhode Island building has to offer and it is open daily. You can explore it from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.

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