FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) – Franklin’s beloved annual Applefest, celebrating its 40th year, kicks off Friday.
More than 300 craft and food vendors, as well as live entertainment, will highlight the three-day celebration that begins on Friday, October 6, and ends on Sunday, October 8.
“It’s the spirit of community that makes Applefest happen,” said Jodi Lewis, Executive Director of the Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce. “An event like this doesn’t just happen. There’s so much going on behind the scenes.”
Applefest, which is organized by the Franklin Chamber, began as a pie-eating contest in 1982 and has grown to one of rural Pennsylvania’s biggest events, with 100,000 visitors expected over the festival’s three days.
“People have grown to love what it is,” said Lewis. “It’s family reunions. It’s friends gathering. It has become a tradition, not just for locals, but for people coming from all over.”
According to the festival website, more than 40 years ago, a newcomer to the Franklin area, Mrs. Lee Chapman was impressed with the abundance of red apples that grew in the Franklin area and visited the Franklin Area Chamber of Commerce office expressing “enchantment” with the area.
Coming from an arid region of South Africa, Chapman was especially impressed and thought the apples should be celebrated and would make a fabulous basis for an event that could help improve the spirits and instill some old-fashioned community pride in the residents who had been hard hit by an economic downturn.
Combining Mrs. Chapman’s suggestion with the area’s historical link to the fabled folk hero Johnny Appleseed, who lived in the Franklin area from 1797 to 1804, the idea for Applefest was born.
For more information, directions, and planning a stay, see the official Aplefest website.
