Apple Festival begins: Farmer of Year, bake contest winners revealed
HENDERSONVILLE - Following rain at the beginning of the week, skies cleared for the opening of the 77th North Carolina Apple Festival in downtown Hendersonville on Sept. 1, and the crowds came to celebrate Henderson County's main crop and the annual four-day Labor Day weekend festival.
As has become a tradition at the festival since 2009, United Community Bank announced its 2023 Apple Grower of the Year at the opening ceremony at the Historic Henderson County Courthouse, and this year's winner was Wayne Barnwell with Odell Barnwell & Sons and Barnwell’s Apple House, located at 2900 Chimney Rock Road in Hendersonville.
“As we reviewed this year’s nominations, I was again struck by how much more these growers do to truly grow and support or our community. Mr. Barnwell's nominator shared so many ways in which he is and has always been there to help his neighbors. These insights are added fuel to our continued desire to ensure that we are highlighting this special breed of Henderson County," said Fair Nabers Waggoner, city president of United Community Bank.
Barnwell was humbled by the award and spoke briefly to the crowd.
"I don't have many words to say. I'd like to especially thank all the farmers and especially the families of the farmers," Barnwell said. "They are really the backbone. And I'd like to thank my wife and my son and daughter."
Barnwell's Apple House first began in 1959, and throughout the years, Gladys and Odell Barnwell continued to expand their orchards. They went from a small, 15-acre apple orchard to various orchards of more than100 acres. The vegetable production has also increased, with a large variety grown each year. The Barnwells now have an additional 10 acres of peach orchards.
More information about Barnwell's Apple House, which is open daily from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., is available by going to https://www.barnwellsapplehouse.com/ or by calling 828-685-7300.
More: Apple Festival fun facts and the updated entertainment schedule
The Apple Grower of the Year award was established in 2009 by United Community Bank, forming a partnership with the Apple Festival to ensure to "honor and thank the reason the Apple Festival exists what defines Henderson County as 'Apple Country': Our amazing apple growers," Waggoner said.
Former Henderson County Apple Growers of the Year
2009: Geraldine Lamb, Ottanola Farms
2010: JH Stepp, Hillcrest Orchard
2011: Fred Hoots, Hoots Farm
2012: Bud Dalton, Dalton Orchards
2013: Mildred H. Lyda, Lyda Farms
2014: Pat and Leslie Lancaster, Grandad’s
2015: Jerry Laughter, Circle L Farms
2016: Kenny Barnwell, Ridgeview Apple Packers
2017: Billy Laughter, Posthumously - Laughter Orchards
2018: Marvin Lively – Lively Orchards
2019: Mike Stepp – Stepp’s Hillcrest Orchard
2021: RichMind Co Richard and Mindy Staton
2022: Rick Moss, Moss Farms
Winners of the Apple Festival Bake Contest announced
Kathy Kirchoefer took home two first-place finishes in the Apple Festival Bake Contest, earning both the overall first-place award and the first-place award in the dessert category.
For the first time ever, there was a business category, and Circle L Farms, which had a booth set up right across the street from where the announcement was made at the Historic Courthouse Plaza, won first place. The booth had customers lined up throughout the morning and also when the announcement was made. Workers at the both cheered when they heard they had won.
Other category winners were Kathy Ham for breads, Savannah Langford for pies and Paisley Ann Gordon for the kids category.
More: Logo, theme revealed for 2023 NC Apple Festival
More sunny skies ahead
According to the National Weather Service, there will be plenty of sunshine throughout the rest of the North Carolina Apple Festival, which is a welcome change from a year ago. Last year the King Apple Parade was canceled due to heavy rains.
Below is the three-day forecast for Hendersonville:
Sept. 2: Patchy fog before 11 a.m., otherwise, cloudy through mid-morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon. For the night, clear, with a low around 57. Southeast wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable in the evening.
Sept. 3: Sunny, with a high near 84. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming east in the afternoon. At night, clear, with a low around 61. South wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable after midnight.
Labor Day: Sunny, with a high near 87 and a low around 63 at night. The King Apple Parade will begin at 2:30 p.m.
Dean Hensley is the news editor for the Hendersonville Times-News. Email him with tips, questions and comments at DHensley@gannett.com. Please help support this kind of local journalism with a subscription to the Hendersonville Times-News.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Farmer of Year, bake contest winners named at Apple Festival
