Ohio Applebutter Festival

Just twenty five miles southwest of my hometown of Toledo, Ohio is a town called Grand Rapids. Each year, on the second Sunday in October, they hold their annual Applebutter Festival from 10am to 5pm. For the last 31 years, this tiny little village has shown people how life was lived along the Maumee River centuries ago. It's a fun festival which is also educational for the whole family. This was my first time to enjoy the festival with my family.

As it's name states, Applebutter is the main attraction of the festival. As you enter the village park you will see 50 gallon copper kettles with applebutter being cooked on the day of the event. This is a slow cooking process that takes hours to make the delicious treat. According to wikipedia, " Apple butter is a highly concentrated form of apple sauce produced by the long, slow cooking of apples with cider or water to a point where the sugar in the apples carmelizes. This turns the apple butter a deep brown. The concentration of sugar gives apple butter a much longer shelf life as a preserve than applesauce. Apple butter was a popular way of using apples in colonial America and well into the 19th century". There are stands that sell applebutter already cooked and jarred. Make sure to get in line early because they sell out fast. The lines are very long but the applebutter is well worth the wait. But don't worry if you don't get some when it's your turn in line, during the festival hours they will be cooking more applebutter. If you would like to experience how they cook the applebutter, step right up. Volunteers are always appreciated and great conversations are available for free!

As we walked down the different streets of the town, we sampled some traditional festival treats. There were elephant ears, funnel cakes, candy apples, carmel apples, cotton candy. I really enjoyed the apple dumpling with vanilla ice cream and carmel sauce! I also tried a buffalo burger. It was an interesting taste. They were also making kettle corn in big copper kettles. Kettle corn is a sweet/salty type of popcorn. We got a big bag to share.

The downtown area is also a great buzz of activity. You can experience life as it was the old days. As we walked along the Maumee River bank, there were demonstrations of blacksmithing, bobbin lace making, even free samples of pumkin butter. I came within 10 feet of seeing an American Bald Eagle at the birds of prey exhibit. We walked past camp life demonstration and candle dipping. If you like history, you will find living history demonstrations of military groups, mountainmen, Civil War and pioneer re-enactors. The re-enactors spend Saturday night camped in tents along the Maumee River. Have questions? Just ask them. History lessons are free!

Music and entertainment is also a treat at the festival. You will hear bluegrass, Dixieland, country, and gospel music. There was even a bagpipe player. Local vendors show their crafts and collectibles in the marketplace. Many crafters were selling Halloween items and Christmas items. If you are taking children, they will definitely enjoy the children's area and pony rides. It was a fun and educational day full of wonderful apple fragrances!

The festival is free but they do charge $7.00 for parking.