10th Annual Cumberland Homesteads Apple Festival
The Apple Festival was voted the Best Community Event of 2012.
Enjoy a delightful event of activities for all ages including live music, storytelling, quilt show, antique tractor display, and the Kids' Zone. Food will be offered by several specialty vendors. There will be apples in abundance: apple cider, fried pies, old fashioned stack cake, apples by the peck or bushel, as well as other homemade goods.
How the Apple Festival Got Started
It all began as a leap of faith by C.H.T.A. Board Members in 2004 to create a wholesome, family-oriented, old-fashioned, fun-filled, fund-raising event that would help pay the expenses of operating the Homesteads Tower Museum and the Homesteads House Museum. From the beginning, the board felt it was important to include the Homesteads Elementary School in the event because of the long-standing close relationship between the historic school and the Tower Museum. The idea to tie the event to apples was a natural choice because of the many orchards that the Original Homesteaders planted and tended to help feed their families in the early days of the Homesteads. The board members pitched in with lots of energy and with the additional help of their friends and neighbors made the 1st Homesteads Apple Festival a great success.
Since then the festival has grown in size and attendance each year. New ideas are presented each year and the C.H.T.A. Board of Directors decide on which ideas will be adopted to enhance the festival. Great emphasis is placed on keeping the festival family-oriented, affordable for families and educational about our unique history. The Tower Museum is alway open during the festival and visitors can enjoy the historic exhibits on display and climb the 97 steps to the top of the Tower.
The festival also focuses on presenting quality music and crafts. Our entertainment has been one of the highlights of the festival from the very beginning. Many local talents have graced the Apple Festival stage for great, continuous music all day. But the stage has also seen some out-of-town guest performers that helped us bring in larger attendance and larger recognition as a premier event. On the stage of the 2nd Apple Festival, Grammy-winner, Amy Grant gave a concert that will always be remembered and appreciated. It was with her generous support of C.H.T.A. efforts that many doors began to open for the Homesteads Apple Festival. One of those doors was increased corporate sponsorship of the event. Our sponsor list continues to grow each year and their support has made it possible to continue adding new features to the event.
The Apple Festival Craft Show is also a reflection of the high skills of our regional artists and craftsmen. Each year the number of booths increase, but unlike so many festival craft shows, the quality of craftsmanship does not suffer with the growth of the show. While the show is not a juried show, it is well-managed with strict rules on what crafts are acceptable. This attention to the quality of crafts allowed is appreciated by the public and the craftsmen alike.
And then there's the food! Lots of fine folks pitch in to bake homemade goodies for our huge bake sale every year. Our fresh Fried Apple Pies are the festival's favorite food item. The high demand for fried pies keeps a host of volunteers busy all day hand-carrying the pies to our Apple Pie and Apple Cider booths as the pies arrive to the festival.
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