It’s officially fall now, in every sense of the word, and the start of fall means one delicious, fantastic thing: It’s apple season! Late September and early October marks the best time to get fresh-picked, crisp, juicy apples of every variety, for baking, dipping, or just biting into whole. As always, we have several local opportunities to celebrate apple season right. There’s no shortage of Main Line Apple Festivals!
Stay tuned in the coming weeks for a list of Pumpkin and Harvest Festivals happening throughout October!
If you’d like to take a look at what other fall events are happening now, check out my calendar, or this Main Line Today article!
Linvilla Orchards Apple Festival
A mainstay for Main Line families going back generations, Linvilla Orchards Apple Festival will take place on September 28 this year (rain date September 29). The festival will feature several fun family activities, including:
Pick Your Own: Families can head out on a hayride into the orchard to pick their own apples, plus other ripe fruits and veggies (check page to see what is available before you go).
Apple Tastings: Sample all the different varieties of apples and find out what they’re good for, be it eating straight, baking into pies, or coating in caramel!
Pie Eating Contest: Linvilla Orchard’s annual Apple Pie Eating Contest will take place at 2 pm. There 5 age brackets, and entry forms are available at the door. Names of participants will be picked from a hat right before the contest begins. The prize is a $25 gift certificate for each bracket.
Roasty Toasty: A new tradition at every festival, Linvilla’s famous corn man will be there to grill up delicious, fresh ears of corn for everyone.
Kids’ Activities: As always, there will be costumed characters, storytellers, face painting and more. Plus, Pumpkinland will be in full swing, and kids and grownups alike will love the larger-than-life decorations, local history, themed hayrides, and mazes. And with Halloween season about to kick off, don’t forget to check out the jack o lantern exhibit!
Harleysville Apple Butter Frolic
Celebrate Mennonite heritage and Pennsylvania Dutch culture, stop by the Harleysville Apple Butter Frolic on October 5th from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM. The frolic is a fun way to learn about how people in our areal lived over 100 years ago. It’s $9 for most, $2 for children ages 6-12, and free for children 6 and under. The festival offers a plethora of fun activities for adults and kids alike. Here’s the list of events:
FEATURES
–Pancake & Apple Sausage Breakfast (7:30-10:00 am)
–Apple Foods Tent
–Folk Craft Demonstrations
–Delicious PA German Food
–Children’s Activities
–Tractor and Wagon Rides
–Farming Demonstrations
–Grandma’s Kitchen
–18th Century Hearth Cooking
–Wheat & Rye Threshing
–Traditional Foods from Latino and Indonesian Mennonites
Peddler’s Village Apple Festival
Never missing an opportunity to celebrate a fruit harvest, the Peddler’s Village Apple Festival will be taking place on November 2nd and 3rd this year. Stop by the beautiful town center for live music, food trucks, artisan booths, a variety of baked apple treats, restaurant and more! This year’s special activities include axe throwing, face painting, sand art, and a gem mine.
If you want to be sure you get one of their General Store’s apple pies, be sure to preorder by November 1, as they do go fast. As always, festival packages including guaranteed parking, priority restaurant seating, and a bag of goodies, are available for purchase, but the festival itself is free to attend.
