Apple festival has strong turnout despite rain
OAK HARBOR - The 44th Annual Oak Harbor Apple festival this year started out with a downpour of rain, and about half of the vendors packed up and left around 5 p.m. The trolley and parade were canceled.
The Oak Harbor Apple Festival Royalty pageant was moved to Mill Street Tent for the royalty crowning.
Brough takes crown at Apple Festival
Corrina Brough was crowned the Apple Festival Queen. This is her first year running. “Thanks for everyone coming out in the rain. It was so, so bad, so bad, so rainy all our dresses got a little wet at the bottom,” Brough said. “But I am super excited for this year to represent as your queen.”
Madison Witt won Apple Festival Queen First Attendant. This was her first year running in the contest. Witt said she will be back next year in the Oak Harbor fair. She is also a third generation from the Witt Orchard family. The business has been open since 1967.
“We like to sell to our community, and it's easier to be able to bring it down here to the festival and show people our apple varieties, apple cider, and our donuts,” Witt said.
Addaline Bond won Apple Blossom 2023, it was her second time running and she plans on running again next year.
Olive Walker won junior princess.
The Candy Apple Cutie contest winners were Baby Boy Owen Shure and Baby Girl Blair Olivia Genzman; Toddler boy Brooks Thomas and Toddler girl Marlie Baumgartner.
Baking contest winners announced
The Apple Festival Baking contest winners were Carolyn LeDuc for an Apple Cream Pie in the Apple Pie division; Crystal Vail for her Spliced Apple Caramel Cake in the cake division; Haley Fillmore for her Apple Muffins Adult Division; and Dakota Gluth for her Apple Strudel in the Junior Division and her Apple Pie cupcakes in the Cupcake division.
Along with the festivities there were also crafts, dancing, a rummage sale, food, apples, apple butter, and apple dumplings which seem to be everyone's favorite this year.
“For 25 years I have been coming to the festival. I used to twirl in the parade and do the talent show and things like that,” Sam Meyer said. “Now it's just kind of tradition to come every year, for the food the fun, and dumplings.”
Cyrus Foos from Gibsonburg added, “I come here all the time, for the food and the apple dumplings.”
There were a lot of new vendors this year, food vendors ranged from barbecue, batter-dipped veggies, and bourbon chicken, to perch.
The new craft tents featured glasswork, tumblers, beads, balloons, and metalworking.
Scarecrows, pumpkins adorn festival route
Each store along the apple festival route, which is about 3½ blocks, had a decorated pumpkin or display of a scarecrow by its doors.
The apple butter stirrer from Troop 316 was Bryson Winter, seventh grader. He has been with the troop for four years and this is his second year making apple butter.
Apple butter is an Oak Harbor apple festival tradition, and it has been going on for more than 42 years. It takes 14 hours to make it.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Scarecrows, pumpkins adorn festival rout
