It turns out the Topsfield Fair is a big draw even for Hollywood types. We’re told that the fair, which opens Friday, will be hosting Larry David and the cast of “Clear History” for two days next week. The producers of the HBO movie, which has been filming on the North Shore in recent days, are paying handsomely to shoot at the fairgrounds Wednesday and Thursday while it’s teeming with people. Apparently a section of the fair will be reserved not just for pigs, poultry, and giant pumpkins, but also for Jon Hamm, Michael Keaton, Kate Hudson, and the rest of the cast and crew. The movie is about a marketing exec, played by David, who loses a fortune because of a disagreement with his boss, played by Hamm, and then retreats to live a simple life on a small island off the coast of Massachusetts. When Hamm’s character shows up, hilarity ensues. Of course, the Topsfield Fair, which began in 1818 to “promote and improve the agricultural interests of farmers and others in Essex County,” has a lot going on aside from the movie. (It’s not clear how obvious the filming will be to patrons.) Disney Channel star Bridgit Mendler and the pop band Hot Chelle Rae will both perform at the fair
Oct. 6. Also scheduled to perform there are Frankie Avalon, Austin
Mahone, John Michael Montgomery, and the Flying Wallendas, one of whom, Nik Wallenda, in June became the first person to cross over Niagara Falls on a tightrope.