Thousands of cream puffs, baked potatoes and fried Oreos will be consumed over the next 17 days during one of the country’s largest festivals.

The Big E in West Springfield begins on Friday with the gates opening at 8 a.m.

Would you like to attend this year’s fair? Here you will find everything you need to know.

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased online or on-site. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $12 for children ages 6-12. Children under 5 are free.

It costs $11 if you go after 5pm Sunday through Thursday.

Park

Parking at Gate 9 is $10. Cash is required.

If the parking lot is full, there are many other parking spaces in the streets surrounding the exhibition center. However, these spaces are often more expensive.

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What should I eat?

To celebrate the Big E’s 108th year, Nick O’Malley of MassLive’s “I Ate It” series wrote a list of 108 foods you can find at the fair this year. He also wrote about the “crazy” new foods that he’s most excited about.

And there are nutritional guides for vegans and gluten-free people.

And if that’s not enough to plan all your delicious treats, click here to see all of MassLive’s stories about The Big E.

What should I do?

The largest and most prominent stage at the fair, the Big E Arena, will feature around 10 headliners. The scheduled performances begin every evening at 7:30 p.m. in the Big E Arena.

These performances include Phil Wickham, Ludacris and Big Time Rush.

But there are plenty of other free concerts. Here is the full program.

Where are the toilets, first aid or breastfeeding rooms?

Here you will find a complete map with the locations of all bathrooms, first aid facilities and other accommodations.