(8/2019) As we enter what may be considered the warmest
part of the summer, organizers for local fall festivals are hard at work
planning and organizing. The National Apple Harvest Festival is a favorite
among locals in Adams County, Frederick County and many throughout
Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. This year marks the 55th year of the
National Apple Harvest Festival. This old-fashioned family event will be held
in October over the weekends of the 5 & 6 and the 12 & 13, at The South
Mountain Fairgrounds in Biglerville. The event is held all four days from 8
a.m. to 6 p.m. rain or shine.
This family-friendly event has something for everyone
including a wide variety of delicious food options, dozens of free
entertainment options and hundreds of arts and crafts vendors. "As the festival
moves into the future, we want to make sure that we preserve its old-fashioned
and rustic feel while implementing new technologies to help each attendee have
the best time possible," Publicity Chairman Andrew Robinson said. "We also
continue to focus on what people want when they come to a festival like ours -
and we've adapted over the years to include dozens of new food options as well
as craft beers, wine and liquors."
The festival’s roots date back to October 14, 1961,
when The Adams County Fruit Growers Association held an Apple Harvest Holiday
to celebrate the apple harvest. After the fruit growers decided not to run the
holiday again, The Upper Adams Jaycees organized and sponsored the very first
Apple Harvest Festival on October 10, 1965. Admission was free. The Jaycees
earned a profit of $297 that first year and voted to try it again. The event
only grew from there.
With profits earned from the festival, The Upper Adams
Jaycees are able to help support all sorts of community, member and individual
projects. A fifteen-member board of directors of Jaycees guides the festival
each year, meeting every month and is responsible for improvements to the
festival.
The festival’s name says it all, with many apple
products and demonstrations available. From apple bread, an apple butter boil,
a cold cider press, cider slushies, hot cider, apple desserts of all kinds, and
fresh Adams County apples you will be sure to delight in everything apple
during the peak of apple season. Besides Apples, there are various other
delicious foods available including barbecue chicken, pit beef and pulled pork,
French fries, homemade soups and sandwiches, homemade scrapple, and "fair"
food.
With admission, entertainment is included on six
stages—Apple Auditorium, Appleseed, Bluegrass Hollow, Cider Barrel, Cortland
Circle, and Rockin’ Apple. Music of all genres is played including Bluegrass,
Country, Rock and Roll, and Celtic. In the Exhibition Area view the Native
American Dancers and listen and learn at Van Wagner’s Tall Timber "Lumber
Heritage" Program.
Take a hayride, stop at Kid Country—storytelling, apple
pie eating contests, and a petting zoo. Enjoy the Orchard Tours, craft
demonstration area, and shop at over 300 arts and crafts vendors. Don’t miss
the operating steam engine and shingle mill, listen to the hit ‘n miss engines,
and enjoy the antique autos! Check out the National Apple Harvest Festival
Gallery with displays of old-fashioned apple production equipment and past
festival memorabilia.
For more information visit www.appleharvest.com or call
717-677-9413. General admission is $10, $9 for Senior Citizens 60 and older, $9
for Military and Veterans with proper ID, and free for children under 12.
Parking and shuttle services are included. Mark your calendar for this year’s
festival, coming soon!
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