CHICOPEE MA FACTOID:

The villages of Cabotville, Chicopee Falls, Willimansett, and Fairview (and the lands that would become Aldenville) remained a part of Springfield, Massachusetts from 1636 until 1848, when they were partitioned to form the Town of Chicopee. Political factions in Springfield had wished to keep Springfield a "town," instead of becoming a "city," which would give it a mayoral form of government. To keep Springfield sufficiently unpopulated to subvert a state regulation that would have required it to become a city, they partitioned Chicopee, which contained approximately 2/5 of Springfield's land area, and nearly half of its population. Regardless of the partition, Springfield became a city only four years after the partition of Chicopee. Both cities continued to flourish for over a century after the partition.

Events of Chicopee MA: The Chicopee Fest-of-All is a Fourth of July celebration in Szot Park featuring live bands, games, local foods, and fireworks. The Great New England Air Show is an annual two day air show held at Westover Air Reserve Base. 300,000 visitors attended in 2008. The next show is scheduled for August 4–5, 2012. The Sword Game is an annual football game that began in 1964 after the founding of Chicopee's second high school, Chicopee Comprehensive High School. It is held every fall between Chicopee High School and Chicopee Comprehensive High School. The city's mayor presents the winning team with the Mayor's Sword, a sword that was manufactured in the 1890s by Ames Manufacturing Company in Cabotville. The World Kielbasa Festival was a four day fair run by the Chicopee Chamber of Commerce's Fireball Club. It featured Polish food, polka dancing, games, and rides. It took place in the parking lot behind the Fairfield Mall (the current Chicopee Crossing site), running from 1974 until the mid-1990s.