Applefest

The tradition & historical record

Applefest is a yearly village-wide food, entertainment and crafts fair, taking place in several towns in Canada, the United States and England. ¹

Brighton, Ontario's Applefest, founded in 1975, is held annually on the last full weekend in September. Events include BBQ's and breakfasts, entertainment, children's activities, dances, a street fair, car show, arts and crafts, and a parade. ¹

The Bayfield Apple Festival, established in 1962 & held in early October, was listed among "Top Ten Autumn Festivals in North America" by the Society of American Travel Writers in 2006. The 2021 festival (not held in 2020) will mark its 59th year, and in 2009 it attracted over 50,000 people. The city of Bayfield, Wisconsin, located on the southwest shore of Lake Superior, serves as the gateway to the Apostle Islands and was named by the Chicago Tribune as the "Best Little Town in the Midwest." Featured are classic apple fest activities such as an apple pie and apple peeling contests, live music, and a carnival. There is also an annual parade, over 150 arts and crafts booths, and Venetian boat parade in the harbor. ¹

In Warwick, New York, Applefest is held on the first Sunday of October in the streets and parks of the village of Warwick, located in the Hudson Valley of New York. It attracts over 30,000 people each year, usually coming from points south, Northern New Jersey and the New York City area. In the past Applefest was voted by readers of the Times Herald-Record newspaper as the top "Family Event", and was named one of the top ten festivals in the "Top 100 Events in North American" by the American Bus Association. The festival features over 250 craft vendors displaying their handmade jewelry, stained glass, pottery, woodcarvings and more; dozens of food vendors offering traditional American favorites and more exotic ethnic cuisine; fifty local non-profit exhibitors; free music & entertainment; Farmers' Market, and a children's activities. Applefest began in 1989 as a simple harvest celebration, and is now produced by the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce. Festival proceeds benefit these and other local non-profit organizations. ¹

The Woodbine Applefest is always held each year on the last Saturday in September from 9-16:00. The 32nd Anniversary Applefest will return after a one-year hiatus in 2021. The event usually includes many vendor booths, a car show, a pancake feed, and a fun run, as well as many types of entertainment in the outdoor amphitheater. Admission is free. ¹

The Hilton Apple Fest, located in Hilton, New York is also held in October each year and attracts approximately 70,000 visitors. The festival donates $5,000 per year on average to groups such as Ambulance Corps, local libraries, village parks, the Food Shelf, Camp Good Days and Special Times, the Historical Society, Braddock Bay Raptor Research, and other community center projects. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Applefest”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Applefest is yearly village-wide food, entertainment and crafts fair, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 1 external register, which can be verified through the citation. ²