Springfield gets ready for annual apple festival

The 34th Annual Vermont Apple Festival is a staple of autumn for the Town of Springfield. It is also the largest fundraising event of the year for the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce.

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Springfield gets ready for annual apple festival By NEIL P. ALLEN Last year’s apple pie contest judges hold the winning pies at the 33rd Annual Vermont Apple Festival. From left to right: Springfield Town Manager Tom Yennerell, Miss Vermont 2015 Alayna Westcom and 2015 Chamber President Ethan McNaughton. — COURTESY Last year’s apple pie contest judges hold the winning pies at the 33rd Annual Vermont Apple Festival. From left to right: Springfield Town Manager Tom Yennerell, Miss Vermont 2015 Alayna Westcom and 2015 Chamber President Ethan McNaughton. — COURTESY The 34th Annual Vermont Apple Festival is a staple of autumn for the Town of Springfield. It is also the largest fundraising event of the year for the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce (SRCC). This year, it was also the first time Caitlin Christiana, executive director of the SRCC, played a role in the planning. “I started just before the festival took place last year so I wasn’t involved in any of the planning,” she said as she sat at a long table in the SRCC office surrounded by forms, posters and notebooks filled with information about the festival. The Vermont Apple Festival is held at Riverside Middle School on Saturday, Oct. 8, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. “The festival is free and open to families of the area and tourists. People from all over come to the festival,” Christiana said. “It is a big tradition in town.” There will be more than 60 vendors filling the gym, cafeteria and outside grounds with crafters from all over Vermont as well as New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Many of the usual food vendors will be at the festival and will be joined by vendors selling Jamaican-style food, caramel apples, fresh popped kettle corn and Two Neanderthals. There will be a puppet show by Lindsay and Her Puppet Pals. Lindsay’s larger than life, hand crafted puppets charm even the most timid audience members and provide memorable characters for positive short stories and skits. Kids will meet several puppets throughout the performance. Perhaps a goofy penguin or moose, a heroic tiger, a lovable bear, a dancing robot or flamingo, an adorable mouse, a stubborn goat, a shy dragon, or a singing dinosaur. Come find out who's making an appearance this time. There will also be live music throughout the day, with each performer will play for an hour. The performers for this year are Jesse Peters, Johnny O, Bill Brink and Matt Meserve. Outside there will be the Springfield Humane Society kissing booth, pony rides, apple cider making, a solar-powered bouncy house from SunCommon, a train for both kids and adults, and doughnut and pie eating contests. The Springfield High School National Honor Society will be selling pumpkins and the Springfield Cub Scouts will have a bake sale. Bakers are invited to enter the pie contest where there will be cash prizes for best traditional and non-traditional pie. Register your pie on the day of the event from 9 to 10 a.m. for judging at 1 p.m. Rylee Field, the reigning Miss Vermont, will once again be one of our judges this year, the other two judges have not been determined yet. Please note, each pie will become property of the Vermont Apple Festival and slices will be sold after the prizes are awarded. Please include a list of ingredients used in the pie. Miss Vermont will also be available for photo ops and a meet and greet. The 4th Annual Fastest Kid in Town race will take place at noon. “This is one of the most popular events,” Christiana said. “It is sponsored by the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center and Springfield Medical Care Systems.” The Fastest Kid in Town race is an effort to raise awareness about the importance of fitness and physical activity for young children. The race encourages young people to have fun and run. There is no charge and is open to all children ages 5-12. There will a 100-yard race for children ages 5, 6, 7, and 8 year olds, and a 200-yard race for children ages 9, 10, 11, and 12. Children are divided into age groups, 5/6, 7/8, 9/10, and 11/12. The goal is for 100 children competing for the title in the races. All pre-registered participants are guaranteed to receive a FREE “Fastest Kid in Town” t-shirt and the top boy and girl finishers will receive medals. Pre-registration is recommended, but not required. To sign up for the event stop by the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center on Clinton Street in Springfield or visit www.myreccenter.org to print a race registration form and waiver. For more information, please call Sarah Tilden Gramling, Youth and Family Programs Coordinator, at (802) 885-2568 or email stilden@myreccenter.org. This will also be the last farmers market for the season. The market will be set-up on the grass just off the parking lot. There will be a variety of vendors offering produce, meats, eggs, honey and maple syrup as well as doughnuts, pies and other baked goods, pickles and preserves. There will also be vendors with juvenile fiction books, sewn items of aprons, dog scarfs and dish towels, jewelry for adults and children and a variety of other crafts. The Farmers Market has one more drawing in October for three prizes of a $30 market gift certificate, a $20 gift certificate to Biben’s Ace Hardware and a ticket for Springfield Cinema 3. For more information about the festival, please visit online at www.springfieldvt.com.