32nd annual Apple Festival a success

The festival featured over 60 vendors selling homemade jewelry, food, woodworking products and arts and crafts. Also featured at the festival were amusement park rides, pony rides, train rides and the Springfield Farmers Market.
http://www.vermontjournal.com/content/32nd-annual-apple-festival-success

32nd Annual Apple Festival a Success Submitted by VT Journal on Tue, 10/14/2014 - 1:17pm By LAUREN DRASLER The Shopper SPRINGFIELD, VT -On Saturday, October 11, the Springfield Vermont Chamber of Commerce hosted the 32nd Apple Festival in the Riverside Middle School Gymnasium. The festival featured over 60 vendors selling homemade jewelry, food, woodworking products and arts and crafts. Also featured at the festival were amusement park rides, pony rides, train rides and the Springfield Farmers Market, which has been part of the festival for the last few years. “It’s going to be a really good festival this year,” Chamber of Commerce Director Jenevieve Johnson said prior to the event. “There are a lot of new additions this year and lots of new and old vendors as well.” Johnson said that some of the new additions to the festival this year included a donut eating contest and an apple pie eating contest. Chairwoman and Chamber Treasurer Susan Dana said that in addition to the donut and pie eating contests, this year’s festival featured two new children’s activities and a train ride for both children and adults. Dana also said that many of the vendors featured at the event have been coming to the Apple Festival for many years. “There are several vendors who have been coming to the festival since I started in 2006,” she said. “We have quite a few longtime vendors.” Ellen Schwarzkopf designs original wirewrap jewelry and has been coming to the Apple Festival for about six years. “I’ve been making this jewelry for sixteen years,” she said. “I often do well here at the Apple Festival and I really enjoy meeting all the people here.” Schwarzkopf is based out of Warminster, Pennsylvania and said that she often participates in local craft fairs in her area, but that the Apple Festival is the furthest north she goes with her jewelry. Although much of the event features jewelry, crafts and foods, other organizations are represented at the Apple Festival as well. Alpha Delta Kappa, which is a women’s educators’ organization, was giving away free books that were donated by Friends of the Springfield Town Library. “I came with four big boxes of gently used books from the library’s book sale,” retired fourth grade teacher Pat Graves said during the event. “The books are for younger children through middle school aged and a lot have gone already.” Another vendor that was featured was Wellwood Orchards, which is located in Springfield. Representative of Wellwood, and the oldest daughter of the family that owns the orchard Aggie Mark, has been participating in the festival for over 20 years. Mark is also known as the Vermont Apple Lady because of the Apple costume she wears each year during the event. “My favorite part of coming to the Apple Festival is seeing all the people,” she said. “Everyone is here to have fun. I see the same families every year, and the only time I see some people in the area is when they come to the Apple Festival.” Mark said she also appreciates seeing all the other vendors and everything they have to offer, as well as all the food that is featured during the festival. Many people seem to share Mark’s love of the food that is provided at the event. “I came today to have fun, but my favorite thing about the Apple Festival is the corn chowder,” Riverside Middle School student Miranda Todt said. Though Todt may have enjoyed the corn chowder the most, she said that she also likes the jewelry and hair accessories featured at the craft fair. Springfield resident Cheryl Westerman said that this year’s Apple Festival was impressive. “I hadn’t been to the Apple Festival in many years, but I was very impressed with the quality of the vendor items,” she said. “I also felt a strong sense of community in the atmosphere with the music and food that was provided.” Although Westerman enjoyed the festival itself, she also said she was excited to see Governor Peter Shumlin and Representative Peter Welch at the festival with local State Representative Alice Emmons. “Vermont is great state because our politicians are very accessible,” she said. “I think it’s really nice that the governor and Peter Welch are reaching out to a community that has suffered hard economic times.” Governor Peter Shumlin was a judge for the Apple Pie baking contest, but was also in attendance to show his support for the Springfield community. “Attending this [the Apple Festival] is a great way to listen to Vermonters,” Shumlin said. “It’s also a way to remind people of the progress Vermont has made and to ask residents for their vote.” Shumlin said that as a native of Putney, he had attended the Apple Festival in the past. He also said that because he grew up in southern Vermont, he has seen how Springfield has grown and changed since then. “Springfield is on a comeback,” Shumlin said. “It’s nice for me to see the number of renovations and reconstructions of buildings that as I kid, I thought would never be used again. It’s exciting.”