Each year, hundreds of pounds of butter are plastered on wire frames to create a sculpture made entirely from butter. In fact, over 600 pounds of butter, donated by Agrimark/Cabot Creamery, are used for the creations. This work all takes place in a specially designed cooler located under the Mallary Rotunda during The Big E and is sponsored by the Massachusetts Dairy Promotion Board.
Sculptors Jim Victor and Marie Pelton are the food artists behind the magic of The Big E’s butter sculpture. The duo creates original food sculptures across the United States. While their primary medium at The Big E is butter, they have used a wide array of edible items in their other work.
The butter sculpture became an annual tradition at The Big E in 1996. Over the past two decades, we have seen Dr. Seuss’ “Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?” memorialized in butter, a daredevil cow on a motorcycle and even a scene from Norman Rockwell’s “The County Agent.”