64th Apple Festival Draws a Big Crowd and One Marriage Proposal
2010 Apple Ambassador Emily Moore Patterson waves to the King Apple Parade crowd.
As the music of Sound Express echoed across downtown Hendersonville on Sunday evening, Linda Workman of Salisbury was busy packing up her Apple Festival booth. Her fourth appearance as a festival vendor was drawing to a close, and she had a big old smile on her face.
She wasn't glad the festival was over. Far from it, she wished it would go on a few more days.
"This is our fourth year here, and it's been a very good festival," said Workman, who sells handcrafted door ornaments. "It's very well organized. We did extremely good this year, so we'll definitely be here next year."
The 64th edition of the North Carolina Apple Festival had it all: Great weather, large crowds, a variety of food and crafts vendors; and plenty of apples and apple products to keep the doctor away for months. There was even a marriage proposal thrown in amongst the bushels of apples.
Festival director David Nicholson was spending Sunday evening riding around to the various vendors, making sure their final needs were taken care of. He stopped for a moment to declare the 2010 festival a success.
"We've had a really good festival," he said. "We've had great crowds. Of course that had something to do with the weather being so perfect. We've had just wonderful attendance. I was just talking to a vendor who said she doubled what she did last year, so people were coming down enjoying themselves and spending money."
Nicholson said Saturday night's concert by the Original Tams really drew the crowd to Main Street. "I've been involved with this festival for 18 years, and I've never seen a crowd like we had Saturday night. It was really a great year, and we just thank all the people that helped us out."
Nicholson said he's not sure if this year's festival set a new attendance record, but he knows the crowd was enthusiastic and wasn't shy when it came to spending money. Two people in particular experienced an Apple Festival to remember. The festival's Facebook page says a man proposed to his girlfriend prior to the Original Tams concert. "Glad we were able to play a part in this wonderful occasion, oh yeah she said YES!," the festival posted.
Many of the vendors may have been packing up Sunday, but remember, the festival's not quite over. Labor Day brings the King Apple Parade to Main Street starting at 2:30pm. Prior to the parade, aircraft from the WNC Air Museum will fly over Main Street. And the vendors south of the Historic Henderson County Courthouse will still be open. Nicholson said the parade is a Henderson County tradition that is sure to draw a good mix of locals and tourists.
"We've got a lot of people who are going to be in the parade. It's very well attended. We get some tourists, but it's really a big Henderson County event," he said.
For more on the parade, visit. www.ncapplefestival.org.
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