Find out how to enter the Apple Recipe Contest for the N.C. Apple Festival

Dean Hensley, Hendersonville Times-News
·3 min read

HENDERSONVILLE — This year marks the 77th year of the North Carolina Apple Festival, an annual downtown Hendersonville event steeped in tradition and the return of something for apple lovers of all ages: The Apple Recipe Contest.

This year's event was organized by Abigail Pierce, who is the Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences at the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Henderson County Center. She is a newcomer to the staff who was hired in January.

"Abigail graduated from Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Georgia, and received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural communications from the University of Georgia. Her Ag Comm background will be a great asset to our office as we reach an increasing number of our clientele through digital means," Dr. William Kelley, the Center's County Extension Director, said in an article on the henderson.ces.ncsu.edu website. "She definitely ups our game in that arena with her expertise and skills."

Apples are for sale at a vendor along Main Street on Sept. 2, 2022, during the opening day of the 76th Apple Festival in Hendersonville.
Apples are for sale at a vendor along Main Street on Sept. 2, 2022, during the opening day of the 76th Apple Festival in Hendersonville.

Pierce most recently worked as an assistant teacher at FernLeaf Community Charter School in Fletcher.

Prior to that, she was a school nutrition assistant and garden educator with FoodCorps and the Jackson County School System in Georgia. In that role she helped connect with farmers and distributors to purchase local food for the 11 school cafeterias in the district.

Scenes from the opening day of last year's N.C. Apple Festival in downtown Hendersonville.
Scenes from the opening day of last year's N.C. Apple Festival in downtown Hendersonville.

"We are delighted to have Abigail’s diverse background in our office. We know that she will be a great asset to N.C. Cooperative Extension, Henderson County Center as well as our clientele," Kelley said. "We intend to get her out to many of our farms and events to utilize her extensive background in agriculture to help enhance our programs."

More: Meet American Fruit Grower's National Apple Grower of the Year

Pierce's presence is already making a difference for the Apple Festival for the annual recipe contest, which is divided into the following categories:

• Bread – sweet or savory in a loaf form• Pies and Pastries – must have pie crust or pastry dough component• Desserts – includes cakes and cookies• Kids – made for kids by kids (with adult supervision)• Local Business – a local business in Henderson County that produces an item in one of the categories above (bread, pies, pastries, desserts)

Each recipe must be original and also contain at least two cups of apples or one cup of applesauce, freshly homemade. Entry forms are available at the following link: https://henderson.ces.ncsu.edu/2023/07/2023-apple-recipe-contest-at-the-nc-apple-festival-mainstage/ and must be submitted by Aug. 28.

More: Meet the Apple Tart Queens: Who they are and what they do for the community

Participants must bring the entire finished product to the Apple Festival Main Stage in front of the historic courthouse between 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Sept. 1. Judging will be from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., and winners will be announced during the Apple Festival Opening Ceremony at 1:15 p.m.

More information is available at https://www.ncapplefestival.org/ or by calling 828-697-4557.

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: Deadline approaching for Apple Festival's Apple Recipe Contest