Oak Harbor hosts 43rd annual Apple Festival
OAK HARBOR — The 43rd annual Oak Harbor Festival brought a huge turnout and didn’t disappoint the thousands of people who came from all over Ohio. The festival, about two blocks in size along the main downtown strip, featured numerous food vendors, candy treats, spooky treasures and apple vendors. Visitors could also enjoy music, a beer tent and dancing.
The apple vendors included Moore Orchards an Oak harbor, local for 20 years, and Witt Orchards a local farm market of Oak Harbor. They sold a variety of different apples including the regular red delicious apples and the Northern spy apple, each variety with its own unique taste.
Visitors enjoyed amusement rides such as a merry go round and "The Little Zipper" near the Portage River. Near the rides was the Cotton Candy stand that has been selling a different kind of apples since 1986.
Many other vendors offered spooky things such as pumpkin metal signs and ghost iron boards. Each vendor took time to dress up their booths for the fall event.
Other activities included the junior baking contest, in which Dakota Gluth won 1st prize. Her sister Taylor Gluth was crowned Princess of the Apple Festival. The Apple Queen this year is Peyton Sautter, and Adaline Toris was crowned the Apple Blossom. Olive Walker was crowned the Junior Princess first attendant.
Kim Geldien, events coordinator for the Apple Festival, said that “due to the huge turnout there are a lot of babies entered this year in the Baby Contest.” Geldien has been events coordinator for 42 years, a role that was passed down to her from her mother. Geldien has recruited her husband and daughter to help with contest events.
The festival typically draws 25,000 to 30,000 visitors each year.
The theme of the baby contests this year was "The Future." Many of the babies in the contest came dressed as aliens, "Back to the Future" characters and, even a future presidential candidate, with Miss Audrey K. Jess holding a sign announcing her candidacy for the White House. In the end Adalyn Burks, 14 months old, took first prize for her Lt. Ripley character from the movie "Alien," followed by Jett Miller for portraying Doc Brown from "Back to the Future."
The baby contest also included the toddlers this year with the win for Sawyer Kitzler, age 2, dressed as an astronaut.
The Apple Festival wouldn’t be what it is without apple butter, and Boy Scout Scout Troop 316 has been making apple butter for the festival for 41 years. The troop held demonstrations on how to make apple butter and young Micah Wonderland, a stirrer demonstrator, started stirring apple butter in a big kettle at about 8 a.m. Saturday. Micah said he has been a stirrer for 3 years and enjoys the duty.
Grand Master Roger Carpenter from Scout Troop 316 says it takes about 14 hours to make apple butter. Roger has been in the Scout Troop since 1941 as a boy and started out as a stirrer of the apple butter, using a recipe that has been handed down from the Baugger Family since 1886.
Scout Troop 316 missed two years because in 1969 they made apple butter for the Methodist Church in Oak Harbor.
The Oak Harbor Apple Festival has a lot of history and people that have been involved in the event for many years. Sunday’s events included the Apple Festival car show, free kids’ crafts, live music and a rummage sale, just to name a few.
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Oak Harbor Apple Festival 43rd annual
