As states across the country split over how to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary, the Great American State Fair on the National Mall has become one of the most visible flashpoints in that debate. In Massachusetts, that national dispute narrowed on July 1, when 72-year-old Donna Festinger of Greenfield showed up in Washington on her own to represent a state government that chose not to participate.
Donna Festinger staffed Massachusetts’ booth after the state declined to join
Festinger, a former teacher from Greenfield, told Fox News Digital she traveled to Washington and paid her own expenses so Massachusetts would not be represented by an empty booth at the Great American State Fair. The event is part of the Trump-aligned Freedom 250 celebration, which organizers said runs from June 25 through July 10, 2026, on the National Mall. The National Park Service also lists the Great American State Fair as an event on the Mall during that period.
Fox News Digital reported that Festinger arrived at the start of the 16-day fair and planned to remain for the full event. According to that report, she said she did not want visitors “to walk into an empty room” and decided that “somebody” from Massachusetts should be there. The article identified her age as 72 and said she was staffing the Commonwealth’s booth on July 1.
The booth later drew additional support from Judith Kalaora, a Boston resident and founder of the history organization History At Play, who appeared in period dress honoring Revolutionary War figure Deborah Sampson. The Boston Globe reported that Kalaora joined Festinger after seeing social media posts about empty booths at the fair. Together, their presence turned what had been a vacant state exhibit into a staffed space tied to Massachusetts history.
Massachusetts is among the Democratic-led states that chose not to take part in the fair, a decision that has drawn attention because of the state’s central role in the American Revolution. Reporting from Maine Public and other outlets shows the fair has been controversial from the start, with some governors and state officials questioning its political framing and connection to President Donald Trump. Axios also reported that multiple Democratic-led states opted out as the event became increasingly associated with Trump’s agenda.
Healey’s office has said Massachusetts is focusing on its own in-state commemorations instead of the Washington fair. In a statement reported by the Boston Herald in June, the governor’s office said its priority was directing attention to MA250 events, Sail Boston, expanded July 4 programming and other major initiatives taking place across the Commonwealth. Separately, the governor highlighted statewide Independence Day programming through an official July 4 events guide published by Mass.gov.
What remains unconfirmed is any broader public accounting of how Massachusetts’ fair space was supposed to be staffed once the state declined formal participation. The state has not released a detailed public explanation of whether the booth was fully abandoned, partially arranged by outside groups or left open for unofficial volunteers. That uncertainty is part of why Festinger’s trip drew outsized attention.
The dispute over the booth is rooted in a larger national disagreement over the Freedom 250 event itself. Freedom 250 has described the Great American State Fair as a 16-day national exposition tied to the country’s semiquincentennial, while critics have argued the event has become partisan. Axios reported that musicians, vendors and some states pulled back as concerns grew about the fair’s political identity.
Those concerns were cited directly by other states. Axios reported that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker pointed to what he called the politicization of America 250 activities, while Maine Public reported that other Democratic officials raised similar objections. In Oregon, according to published statements cited by news outlets, officials pointed both to costs and to concerns that the event had become more partisan than originally presented.
For Massachusetts residents, the practical takeaway is that the state’s official America 250 focus remains centered at home, not in Washington. Mass.gov has promoted a statewide calendar of celebrations, and the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular was identified by the administration as Massachusetts’ signature event for the holiday period. At the same time, Festinger’s trip showed that even without formal state participation, individual residents can still become the public face of Massachusetts in a national exhibit built around the country’s 250th anniversary.