Each year, Pennsylvania farmers grow more than 400 million pounds of apples. While apples are harvested in every county in the commonwealth, the heart of apple production lies in south-central Pennsylvania’s Adams County. And every year, the National Apple Harvest Festival celebrates the fruit with an old-fashioned fall festival in Adams County’s Biglerville, just about 10 minutes from Gettysburg.
The festival takes place over two weekends in October. You have one weekend left—Saturday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, Oct. 11—to enjoy the food, arts and crafts, live entertainment, and apple history that make up the festival. Here’s your guide to making the most of your apple-focused weekend.
Why Adams County is Apple Country USA
Apple orchards were a staple on family farms throughout Pennsylvania for centuries, but in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Adams County began to emerge as the center of the state’s apple industry. Soil conditions along the area’s South Mountain are particularly well suited for apple orchards. Plus, the area is home to a number of apple processors such as Musselman’s, which turn the fruit into other products like applesauce, cider, and juice. Eventually, Adams County became known as “Apple Country USA.”
Adams County growers began celebrating the fall apple harvest in the 1960s, with the National Apple Harvest Festival first getting its start in 1965. Over time, the festival grew to become the nationally recognized, two-weekend event it is today.
Plan your visit to the National Apple Harvest Festival
The festival takes place outdoors at South Mountain Fairgrounds in Biglerville.
The first festival weekend (Saturday, Oct. 3 and Sunday, Oct. 4) has already passed, but you can still dive into the apple action on the second weekend of the festival, Saturday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, Oct. 11. The festival is open between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday and between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on Sunday.
General admission for those 12 and older is $15 for one day, while two-day admission is $26.
Kids under 12 are free, while seniors and members of the military pay a discounted admission price of $13. Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate.
Parking is included in admission, and you’ll be able to use free parking shuttles to jet you from the lots to the festival entrance.
What can you do at the festival?
The National Apple Harvest Festival hosts an array of activities, from live entertainment to old-fashioned harvest festival fun.
The schedule of events for the second festival weekend includes live music and other acts, including a set from an area rock band and a Native American dance performance. You can also check out live chainsaw wood carving and scenic bus tours of a local Adams County orchard.
The festival will also feature an antique car show, antique farm equipment including an old cider press, artisan demonstrations, hayrides, old-fashioned games, and hundreds of arts and crafts vendors selling their wares.
Kids’ activities include a petting zoo, face painting, craft making, a rock wall, and puppet theater performances.
What to eat and drink at the festival
In a word, apples.
But there are, of course, many different ways to enjoy apples!
The National Apple Harvest Festival features vendors selling apples in a variety of different foods, including apple dumplings, apple cider, apple pie, apple butter, applesauce, apple pancakes, apple baked goods, apple sausage, candied apples, and even apple pizza.
But of course, there’s more to eat than just apples—though in the spirit of the festival, we certainly suggest eating as many apple-infused foods as you can. Dozens of food and drink vendors will also be offering a wide range of festival foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and tasty treats in between. You can find barbecue, seafood, burgers, funnel cakes, roasted nuts, sandwiches, and more. Plus, you can also purchase alcohol, including craft beer and hard cider.
How to continue the apple festivities in Adams County
Outside of the National Apple Harvest Festival, you can keep the fall celebration going in Apple Country USA by supplementing your weekend with some local apple-growing history, as well as apple picking.
Biglerville isn’t just home to the giant festival—it’s also where you can find the National Apple Museum. This free museum is run by Biglerville Historical and Preservation Society and contains exhibits showcasing Adams County’s apple and tree fruit growing history and how it helped shape the county.
You can learn about early apple farming and picking methods and how the commercial apple industry began to develop as pest management and shipping systems advanced. The museum also features a recreated 1880s-era farm kitchen and a general store. You can visit on weekends between May and October.
You might also head to one of the apple orchards that put Adams County on the map as Apple Country USA. Hollabaugh Bros., Inc. is a Biglerville farm where you can pick your own apples to take home (or buy them from the retail market) and enjoy a variety of other fall activities during its Apple Harvest Weekends, which coincide with the National Apple Harvest Festival.
On Saturday, Oct. 10 and Sunday, Oct. 11, Hollabaugh Bros. will be offering apple picking, its own artisan market, apple samples, apple crisp and other apple baked goods, loads of apples in its farm market, and its signature apple cider donut milkshake. A barbecue food truck will also be on site.
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Related: 10 apple orchards in Pennsylvania perfect for apple picking & fall fun
