The 38th Vermont Apple Festival & Craft Show on October 8th at Riverside Middle School is a wonderful chance for locals and tourists alike to appreciate the beauty of fall in Vermont, shop for beautiful, unique handmade goods and enjoy a day out. After a 2-year hiatus, due to COVID restrictions, we are excited for the festival to make its return! There will be delicious food from various food trucks, many handmade craft vendors inside and outside, fun activities for the kiddos, and live music inside and outside.
For the kids, the Edgar May Health and Recreation Center will host The Fastest Kid in Town race, out in the field, and all non-profits who come to set up booths are providing activities as well. So, there will be a wide range of activities for kids of all ages.
The also makes its return with traditional and non-traditional categories. Pie contest registration is 9-10:30am in the cafeteria. Judging will be 1-2pm with slices sold by donation afterward. You can also get your apple crisp fix with crisp made by the culinary students at RVTC - find it for sale inside the school.
Taking a break for a couple of years because of COVID was tough on the Chamber of Commerce. The Vermont Apple Festival is a fundraiser for us and provides a decent portion of our yearly budget that allows us to provide services to our business members and allows us to host free events like the Downtown Holiday Program. 2019 was one of our best years for the festival, with fantastic attendance and sold-out vendor spots, it was unfortunate to lose that momentum and stop the event for two years. We anticipate that getting the ball rolling again will remind people that this event and our community are things to be excited about.
A curveball was thrown with the State-Mandated rule that requires event hosts to collect VT Sales and Use Tax numbers from their vendors and it has been a bit of a learning process for us, as well as our vendors. There has been a great deal of disappointment on both sides. Many vendors are hobbyists, only attending fairs and festivals once or twice a year, and have no interest in going through the process of becoming a registered business and filing all the paperwork that entails. Although we have a great number of vendors, due to this state mandate, we aren't quite up to full capacity. However, with most of the groundwork being done this year, we expect next year to be much smoother and easier.
This event wouldn't be possible without all our sponsors - from the financial sponsors that make it possible to hire entertainment and rent the space, to the wonderful businesses and people that donate their time and energy to promote and help us set up. We thank and appreciate them all! We are also grateful for all of the fantastic vendors. And finally, we are thankful to the community for their excitement in this wonderful, community event.
Apple Festival Sponsors: HB Energy Great Eastern Radio Mascoma Bank Whidden Law Office, LLC Your Hometown Classic Hits WCFR Black River Coffee Bar Claremont Savings Bank North Star Health One Credit Union Turning Point Recovery Center 802 Credit Union Biben’s Home Center, Inc. Lawrence & Wheeler, A Division of The Richards Group PRIMERICA/Debra Cox Springfield Housing Authority All Seasons Construction Cabot Cota & Cota Jerry Farnum State Farm Lamb & McNaughton, PC Muse & Associates Real Estate Parker & Ankuda, PC Senior Solutions Springfield Food Co-op Springfield Regional Development Corp Springfield Reporter Ultimate Auto Body Vermont Timber Works Windsor County Mentors Woodbury Florist Springfield Family Center Springfield Rotary Club
GYM: Ann K. Herrick Bracken Glen Cottage BusyB Goat Farm C & L Crafts Celt Crafts Comfort Prints Coyote Moon Cracklin' Rose Crafty Crafters, LLC Created By Donna D Destiny Handbags Forever Yours Friends Farm Products Handmade by Hayley House On The Hill Collectibles Joyful Stitches Katherine J. Kloszewski Maple Tree Copper/Green Mt Fire & Hammer Mountainside Creations & Collectables MW Hunter Custom Woodworking Perry Mountain Quilts Picture Your Gift PixiesStix Handcrafts RawBin Graphics Scarves by Shannon Smokey Designs Sue's Stones Teresa Bulger Three Craft Ladies Trulywooden, LLC Tulip Tree Turnings
OUTSIDE: Abundance Acres AJ's Catering Congregational Church Crystal Stone Eureka Organic Farm Fellows Hill Forge LLC Jamaican Jewelz Catering LLC Munchie-Rollz Rescue Dawgs LLC Senior Solutions Springfield Farmers' Market Springfield Humane Society Ted's Wicked BBQ Sauces WCFR Your Classic Hometown Hits
CAFETERIA: Enclave Productions Habitat for Humanity VINE Sanctuary Springfield Family Center/SSHP SkyAbove VT Springfield Area Parent Child Center