The Georgia Apple Festival will ring in its 50th anniversary when returning to the Lions Club Fairgrounds Oct. 9-10 and 16-17.
Festival times are 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Sundays.
“All things are a go for this year. We are planning to open up on the 9th at 9 a.m. just as scheduled,” confirmed Apple Festival coordinator Paige Hutto.
Hutto said the festival team is ready for the return, which follows cancellation of last year’s event due to the continuing pandemic.
“We are certainly glad to be back. This festival means a lot to our community, our business community and the charities that are supported by the Lions Club,” she added. “I think the board felt like we could mitigate as many circumstances as (possible). It’s an outdoor event, and I think those have been a little easier to pull off than indoor events.”
The festival layout may look somewhat different this year with vendors being asked to spread out a little more and provide hand sanitizer at their booths. Extra hand-sanitizing stations will be put up around the fairgrounds, Hutto noted.
“We’re going to limit seating inside the Lions Club building, which is open every year for eating. We’re asking our vendors to spread out as much as possible and limit the number of people in their booths,” she added. “We’re just asking people to take personal responsibility for themselves.”
Hutto said face coverings aren’t required for festivalgoers, but wearing a mask is recommended.
“We’re asking people to please use caution and help protect everybody,” she added. “We’re (also) taking extra precautions to protect our volunteers and volunteers working the gate because they will be seeing, we hope, a lot of people.”
Shuttle buses will run to and from the fairgrounds, and the number of riders at a time will not be reduced, Hutto confirmed.
“That’s why we’re strongly recommending masks for the shuttle buses,” she said.
So far, there has been a great response from festival vendors, many of whom were unable to work events for most of last year and part of this year, Hutto shared.
“For a lot of our vendors, this is their livelihood, and they’ve certainly missed out on a year’s worth. I think they’re glad to be back,” she said.
Apple Festival admission is $5 per person. Ages 10 and under are free. On-site parking will be available through a donation to local Boy Scouts or local school groups. Pets aren’t allowed on the fairgrounds, but on-site pet boarding will be available, Hutto noted.
Other events, parade scheduled
Hutto said the Apple Festival 5K Road Race will take place Saturday, Oct. 9, and the Apple Classic Car Show presented by the Apple Country Auto Club will be held at Ronnie Thompson Ford, also on the first festival Saturday.
A parade through downtown Ellijay will usher in the 50th anniversary fest on a new date. The Apple Festival Parade, which previously kicked off the event’s second weekend, will now open its first weekend Friday, Oct. 8, at 6 p.m.
“It’s normally on the second Saturday of the festival, but that causes all the people at the festival and who are working the festival not to be able to attend the parade. This gives them a chance to attend and participate if they want,” said parade manager Lisa Salman.
This year’s parade theme is “Georgia Apple Festival: The Golden Year.” Parade applications will be accepted until Oct. 1.
Paul Milliken, of the Fox-5 Good Day Atlanta morning program, is scheduled to be the parade’s grand marshal, Salman said.
“We do need more participants. There’s no fee to be in the parade. It’s free,” she added.
The Apple Arts festival will unfold along Broad Street the same weekends as the Apple Festival, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. all days.
“Both weekends are completely full. We have over 60 vendors both weekends. There will be several food trucks, live music and our arts and crafts vendors,” Salman said.
One of the Apple Festival’s longtime sister events, the annual Apple Queen Beauty Pageant at the Lions Club, has been canceled for this year.
A recent post on the pageant’s Facebook page noted the cancelation was a hard decision, but the pageant team had to consider the health and well-being of everyone involved.