The village of St. George officially kicked off the start of harvest season as the intoxicating smell of freshly picked apples filled the streets during the 40th annual Apple Fest on Saturday, September 21 and Sunday, September 22, 2024.
Throughout the weekend, thousands of residents and out-of-town visitors explored Main Street and beyond as they browsed the approximately 150 different vendors who were set up to sell their wares.
From home décor to clothing, jewelry, digital art, food preserves, specialty meats, and more, there were plenty of ways to support the local artisans, businesses and organizations who were on site for the two day celebration.
As always, local farmers, Brantwood Farms and Brantview Apples and Cider, were on hand with an array of apple varieties, fresh from the orchard, as well as apple-based products like cider, donuts, dumplings, barbecue sauce, jams, and chutneys.
Jean Tucker, the event’s festival coordinator, said that beyond the food, there were plenty of reasons to love the annual event.
“It’s a bit of a unique festival because it doesn’t happen in a park and we don’t have those big midway rides but it’s that small town village vibe and the atmosphere that brings people back every year,” she said. “It’s really an event for all ages, we’re dog friendly and then of course, we always try to curate a really unique selection of vendors and we try to find a lot of local businesses and local organizations to come out and share what they have to offer.”
During the event, visitors enjoyed the many musical performances and various acts who were performed across the two main stages, providing plenty of entertainment for those in attendance.
On Saturday, guests attended the evening street party to watch several acts including the headliner, Trucker Mouth and the Voodoo Curse, and on Sunday, the Paris Port Dover Pipers made their return to the festival in the afternoon.
Over in the Kids Zone, youngsters in attendance had the opportunity to meet and greet with Disney princesses, Batman, Spiderman, Darth Vader and his Stormtrooper while others explored the children’s entertainment stage, large inflatable attractions, the petting zoo and Sunday’s foam party.
“The foam party is always a great time and it’s just phenomenal because the kids love it and they come back year after year for it,” said Tucker.
Tucker said that the event, which typically garners around 20,000 visitors over the two days, wouldn’t be possible without their team of dedicated volunteers and that she was thrilled with the overall turnout.
“We’re really happy with the turnout, everything’s been going so well and the support from the County has just been amazing,” she said. “I also have to thank the overabundance of volunteers we had this year because I’m just thrilled to say that we have over 100 people who are out here volunteering their time this weekend. I have to thank everybody for coming out and of course, our wonderful volunteer committee for organizing them all… we really couldn’t do this without them.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
