After stepping down as Gilmer Chamber president last year and returning to manage this year’s 50th annual Georgia Apple Festival, retiring festival coordinator Paige Hutto has said “the longest goodbye” to the event she steered since 2013.
Even so, Hutto is happy to have been able to see the Apple Festival return to its longtime home, the Lions Club Fairgrounds, for another successful run following cancellation of the 2020 event.
“It’s nice that I got the opportunity to come back after not having it last year,” Hutto said. “It’s like a big family reunion two years later. There are folks we haven’t seen in two years, so it’s good to be able to see them again.”
‘People are happy to be here’
Hutto said her first Apple Festival was the week after she started working as president of the local Chamber of Commerce in October 2008. She feels fortunate to have worked alongside then-festival coordinator Scott Sharp for several years until her first time managing in 2013.
“We didn’t really have Facebook or much social media in 2008. That’s all changed the way we market the festival and communicate with people. It’s been one of the biggest changes,” she said.
The number of vendors and attendees the outdoor event brings to Ellijay the second and third weekends of October has steadily grown since Hutto first came on board. Part of the Apple Festival’s appeal is that it changes each year, but not too much, she noted.
“Like anything else, it needs to adapt and change, but, at the core, it’s about having great vendors and great arts and crafts. We’ve just tried to keep it fresh, but also a comfortable place for people coming back year after year,” Hutto said. “They want to see their favorite vendors or have the food they come back for each year. We’ve had to adapt, adjust and add additional things as the crowds have grown, but you also want to keep the heart of what it is. It’s a really fine line.”
The Apple Festival has long been a family tradition for many attendees and vendors, Hutto said.
“People come back and bring their kids because their mom and dad brought them. We’ve got multiple generations who come back, and there are vendors who’ve been coming here long before I started 14 years ago,” she added. “What I really love about managing a festival like this is it becomes a big family. I’ve watched kids grow up and some of the vendors’ kids grow up.”
The festival’s continued success is a result of several different entities working together, she emphasized.
“It really comes down to the partnership between the Lions Club and the chamber. That’s what makes this work,” Hutto said. “The festival wouldn’t be possible without support from local leadership and public safety (agencies). We have great support from law enforcement, fire and EMS, and we always have police, firefighters and EMTs onsite.”
Hutto said the festival team is fortunate that no major incidents requiring police or fire/EMT attention have occurred, but it is an outdoor festival so things like bee stings and twisted ankles are bound to happen.
“You may have lost parents or couples getting separated and not remembering which gate they came in. There have even been engagements happen here,” she said. “The most memorable part for me is that most people are happy to be here, and it’s just part of their fall happiness.”
Cool fall breezes and sunshine made for optimal weather conditions over the 50th annual fest’s second weekend, which saw attendance of almost 24,000, according to the chamber.
Past years have proven there’s no telling what the weather will be like come Apple Festival time, Hutto noted.
“The weather always plays a part in it. When October comes, you start praying for good weather,” she said. “I’ve been here in shorts when it was almost 90 degrees, and I’ve been here when it snowed. We’ve had lots of rain and, one year, we had a lot of dust. It felt like a dust bowl.”
Traffic has also increased over the years, but Hutto said it’s not just because of the Apple Festival.
“We just remind folks that it’s fall in the mountains, and traffic is just to be expected. You’ve got the apple houses, and there are four other festivals happening at the same time,” she added.
Glad to be back
Apple Festival planning begins as soon as each year’s event wraps, and something is learned about how to improve the design each go-round, Hutto noted.
“Joe Sewell (Gilmer Chamber Information Specialist) has been with me since day one, and he’s done a lot of the layout. We’ve added street signs so people can navigate it better, and we’ve also added picnic tables,” she said. “One great thing that happened a few years ago is we started using local drivers for our shuttle buses. That takes all that money that was going out and keeps it here in Gilmer County. I’m proud that we were able to work with the Board of Education to do that.”
This year’s festival is special for Hutto and not just because it’s her last year managing. It also represents vendors and festivalgoers getting back to doing something they enjoy.
“For some of our vendors, this is their livelihood. With no shows over the last 18 months (for some), they were really pleased to be back here selling and visiting. I think people are just ready for some normalcy,” she said.
The former Paige Green, who got married in 2020 and now leads the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama, said she’ll be coming back to visit.
“I’m excited about my new life and family and being back home in Alabama, but this has been home for me for so long. This festival means so much to the community, the chamber and the Lions Club. I’ve gotten to know some really great people, and it’s going to be sad to not see them each year,” Hutto said.
From here, the Apple Festival will be managed by current Gilmer Chamber President Jennifer Grimmer, who said new tourism manager Heather Luther will be handling logistics for the event.
“I just feel very blessed that Paige was willing to come back to run this years’ festival and help train me and Heather. We feel like we have the tools we need to be successful due to this organized exchange of hands,” Grimmer said.