Gate admission is the fee charged to walk onto the fairgrounds, separate from anything spent once inside on food, games, or a midway wristband, and it is the first cost decision a visitor makes about a Massachusetts fair. Free admission is recorded at 36 of the 98 events in this directory, which means the majority, 62 events, charge something at the gate, even if the amount itself is not tracked here. A free-admission fair can still generate revenue through paid parking, food and craft vendor fees, and pay-per-ride midway tickets, so free at the gate is not the same as free to attend, and it is worth distinguishing gate admission from a midway wristband, which is priced and sold separately at fairs that charge for both.
Also known as: entry fee, gate fee, admission price.
