It has cooled off for a few days, with gloriously crisp mornings putting me in the mood for Autumn days ahead. The Apple Festival is this weekend, with most of the festival restored after last year’s cancellations. Time for an apple recipe, a look at some of the festival fun and an apple tablescape or two! Each year for several years now, I’ve posted about a different aspect of the Apple Festival, the biggest event in our small town of the year. From 2014, I posted about the wide variety of apples offered by orchards here.
All kinds of apple foods are offered this weekend by the vendors, and I showed some of those on that post too. Apple bread, fritters, small pies both baked and fried, apple ice cream and frozen yogurt, caramel apples on a stick, French apple tarts, apple bread pudding and more!
The festival was setting up on Thursday night when we were downtown for dinner with friends. It looked like it was going to have fewer vendor booths and orchards displaying, with more space between for the crowd to spread out a bit. This photo is from a few years ago.
Apple Festival 2015 concentrated on the orchards and shows during the event.
Creative window displays featuring apples are in every storefront on Main street. See my Apple Festival post from 2018 to see more displays, and the Laurel Park car show that one of our car clubs holds as part of the event.
From 2018, read about the King Apple Parade, small town fun at its best. Fire trucks from every municipality in the county run their sirens as they slowly roll down main street on Labor Day.
Add high school bands, balloon characters, floats, veterans organizations, tractors and antique cars, and it is a long parade!
Last year the downtown festival was canceled, so we visited the apple orchards as they were open to spread out the event. Here, Jonagold apples ripen on a tree, just about ready to pick. We visited Justus Orchard yesterday to visit our friend Jeff as he had his Oz Pottery booth set up there. It was a great time to buy some apples, and have a tasty treat.
Apples make a nice transition from summer to fall. Here is my Apple Tablescape from 2017 featuring my big apple biscotti jar with apple ramekins and napkin rings.
Then I found some apple plates, so I did a full Apple Tablescape for six in the dining room.
In the mood for some apple goodies now? Bake a batch of my Apple Cake Donuts.
Bake one of my Caramel Apple Cakes for a breakfast treat.
Make my Honey Crisp Applesauce with Cinnamon, wonderful with pork.
I have my Autumn Wreath candle out, and I am totally ready for fall to begin!
So, it is an apple weekend, with Autumn on the way!
Today is take-in day for the competitions at the Mountain Regional State Fair, and I’ll be working the quilt competition take-in table, then entering a lot of items into several categories. I am really looking forward to the fall season! Exciting news about that coming this week.
What are you doing this Labor Day weekend?
See the new Cinderella musical movie with an all star cast on Amazon Prime Video (affiliate link) for free with the free trial for 30 days.
From My Carolina Home 
My mouth is watering!!
Yum, yum, yum – apples are just starting to come in now. Chunky warm applesauce topped with fresh home made yogurt, we’ll be having that soon.
My mouth is watering! We love apples so much…We had neighbors a number of years ago who would go apple picking and bring back baskets full, and would always share with us. I would make chunky applesauce, and a couple of fresh apple cakes (the cakes would go into the freezer, to be enjoyed at Thanksgiving). Such good memories! I haven’t made the fresh apple cake in years, but I do try to make the chunky applesauce from time to time. It is great as a side with pork tenderloin…
Thanks for a great post….good luck with all the items you are entering at the fair!!
Oh yummy, your applesauce looks delightful. My favorite orchard was hit so hard by hail this year that they are closed for picking the season and making cider. I am looking for another orchard, there are many here in central Iowa.
Thanks for the reminder about Cinderella, I’ve been looking forward to watching that!
Good luck at the fair!!!
I’m never sure what great skill it takes to grow great apple trees that produce beautiful fruit but I do not have that skill – I have an apple tree that didn’t need another for cross pollination and it is full of wormy horrible looking apples every year 😦 I have to keep buying apples to have ones that I can actually eat.
One of the best things about mountain living…apple harvest time.
Your Apple Festival looks like a lot of fun! Glad it is back this year. In 2015, since I was newly retired, we took a fall trip to upstate New York where I grew up. It was apple harvest season and there were fruit stands all over the place. We bought a selection of apples to eat with our picnic lunches and they were so delicious! That kind of fresh produce will spoil you!
I enjoyed reading about your apples and activities. Last night we organized a neighborhood cookout for today. Our neighbors are good at last-minute things! Hopefully the sun is going to dry up the rain puddles.
We’re not quite into apple harvesting here yet. Still getting fresh peaches, though. I made a wonderful apple bread years ago, but somehow lost the recipe and have never found one quite like it. Good luck with the fair entries.
You’re getting me excited for fall too 🙂
Do you have a tutorial for that beautiful candle mug rug?
It’s from Autumn Jubilee in 2016 – https://frommycarolinahome.com/2016/10/14/autumn-jubilee-block-2-and-mini-quilt/
Awesome! I also looked at Oz Pottery website – beautiful work. I want a bite of every single one of those apples! Can’t wait for fall – although about here, Fall is about 2 days then ZAP we get the snow. Thanks for all the wonderful temptations!
OK, you have me revved up for apples now~!!! I did not go to the festival because of health concerns. Our county positivity rate went up…..I am being overly cautious I know, but it helps me feel comfortable. I will be baking later today or tomorrow! I’m just going to drive out to the groves and get some goodies!!
So many recipes!! They all look so delicious, but it the doughnuts that are calling to me today!~~!
That does look like fun. Thanks for bringing it all to me at home.
Our honey crisp tree is now four years old, and we have one apple on it. I am so looking forward to that 🍎! I grew up next to an orchard, and was totally spoiled picking fresh apples off our trees!
I hope you visited our KWVA booth across from the Visitor Center and saw us in the parade. Our chapter is raising funds to update the Korean War Memorial in front of the Old County Courthouse on Main Street with the Toko-Ri Bridge on top to join the War to Defense Vet generations together and add the National Defense and Korea Defense Service Medals to the existing Korean Service Medal. Starting $5 donations receive an entry to win a fly fishing kit donated by Dodson Fishing Company. Check out the Korean War Veterans Association and Korean War Veterans Association, General Frank Blazey, Chapter 314 Facebook pages for photos and information. We will have our next meeting Oct 13 at 11 am at VFW Post 4309 located at 50 Veterans Circle, Brevard, NC 28712. Bring a bag lunch. We are also on WLOS Facebook page at 26:58. My daughter heard my name called out but not sure who it was, maybe it could have been you?
apple festival sure looks great……..
the change of seasons are in the air as spring is on the way……
Fun post Carole! I must get out something apple for my decor! The festival looks wonderful!
Jenna
This looks like loads of fun and the recipes sound delicious! I expect to see some apples at the market this weekend. I hope so! It’s been too long!
Good morning Carole, Have been saving a few of your recipes so copied the apple donuts this morning, I’ll be making these in the mini bundt pans and plan to freeze a few for the holidays. I have a donut maker but it only make two at a time so think I’ll turn it into a yard sale. Also copied your Egg salad buritto for the state fair, all my favorite fixings and eating it as a buritto is so easy and is held together so well, really like that idea. Thank you for these. Phyllis
Hello again Carole,
You can tell I have gone back to Sept.6th to check this out. One of the photos had a picture of a Artist window of All kinds of things hand made but not the location on the town, do you remember this particular store is at? Thanks for any imput you may recall. Phyllis