SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – The 40th annual Vermont Apple Festival & Craft Show, hosted by the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce, was a resounding success. With blue skies and bright foliage, it was a perfect day to celebrate fall in Vermont.
This year’s event featured six vendor sections: The Gym, with the usual classic craft vendors offering quilts, wooden crafts, paintings, jewelry, soaps, wreaths, and much more; The Café, with specialty foods, including sauces, mixes, spices, and other tasty finds; The Kids’ Corner, sponsored by ServPro of Windham and Windsor, had indoor activities with the Springfield Town Library, Springfield Area Parent Child Center, Black River Innovation Campus, and the River Valley Technical Center Computer Sciences Class; The Farmers Market, with the Springfield Farmers Market and others, with jam, jellies, honey, cider, art, baked goods, and other farm-fresh goodies; The Home, Health, and Business Corridor, sponsored by Jerry Farnum State Farm Insurance, with flu and Covid shots through North Star Health, inflatable archery with the Boy Scouts, a Humvee with the Army National Guard, and many other local businesses, organizations, and clubs; and The Upper Landing, with eight fantastic food trucks offering everything from boba, to tacos, to fried Oreos – we had some fantastic food options available.
We had so much interest this year that we had to overflow into the fields with some of our activities, such as face painting offered by the Springfield High School Spanish Exchange Program, and pumpkin painting hosted by the National Honor Society. In the fields, we also had Troy Wunderle’s Big Top Adventures, the Fastest Kid in Town Race, and a petting area with some very cute goats and more vendors. Out back of the parking lot we had a UTV obstacle course hosted by the sheriff’s department for the kids to try their hand at driving.
The festival drew over 3,000 attendees, and featured more than 100 vendors from across New England. Other highlights included a caricature artist, balloon animals, and live music with performances from talented local musicians including Bill Brink, Matt Merserve, Horse Nail Hill Duo, Johnny O, Paula Boyle, AliT, and The Milkhouse Heaters.
Children were thrilled by the balloon art from the Ballonatic, and a captivating acrobatic performance by Uplift Acrobatics between musical sets. Adults enjoyed the beer and wine garden, hosted by Black Rock Steakhouse. Southern Vermont Astronomy Group provided solar viewing activities, and Miss Vermont 2024 made a special appearance, meeting guests and serving as a judge for the apple pie contest.
Apples were front and center throughout the festival. The apple pie contest showcased pies baked by community members and students from the culinary program at the River Valley Technical Center, who also prepared pans of delicious apple crisp for us to sell. Meanwhile, the Horticulture Program pressed fresh apple cider, led by John Harmer. The chamber provided free apples for guests to enjoy as they browsed vendor booths, and also sold cider donuts and bags of apples from Wellwood Orchards.
The success of this year’s Apple Festival was made possible thanks to the efforts of volunteers and sponsors. We want to give a shout-out to HB Energy for their help with this event, it would not be possible without them contributing their time, skills, and equipment, they are essential in setting up and getting power where it needs to be for the festival, and helping us move giant apple decorations in their trucks. Thank you to the Springfield Rotary and Springfield VFW Post 771 for helping with parking. And a big overall thank you to all the sponsors, volunteers, board members, staff, vendors, and attendees for making this event happen.
The Vermont Apple Festival & Craft Show has been a staple fall event in Springfield, Vt., for over 40 years now. We at the Springfield Regional Chamber of Commerce look forward to this event running for many years to come, and appreciate the people of Springfield and the surrounding communities coming out and supporting our local small businesses, farms, and artisans.
This year’s sponsors included: Apple Barrel sponsors WCFR, HB Energy, and Springfield Hospital; Golden Apple sponsors VTEL, North Star Health, Mascoma Bank, and Jerry Farnum State Farm; Red Apple sponsors SAPA TV, Springfield Co-op, Cota & Cota, One Credit Union, Springfield Rotary Club, Black River Coffee Bar, and ServPro of Windham and Windsor; Green Apple sponsors Claremont Savings Bank, Richards Group, Gallery at the VAULT, Wellwood Orchards, Springfield Housing Authority, Crown Point Country Club, and Imagetek; and Apple Seed sponsors Cannatrol, Springfield Regional Development, Lamb & McNaughton, and Primerica.