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The Johnny Appleseed Festival is a yearly event one must add to the travel itinerary if you are visiting the state of Indiana. When it comes to having fun while gaining valuable knowledge, you can’t give up on an opportunity like that. Thousands of festivals are held across the country annually, but how many of them step back in time to let you have fun while learning of an era gone by? Of course, not many! We have to say, this annual event gives visitors a first glance of what it means to have a great experience on one’s vacation, while getting a taste of the best that the city of Fort Worth and surrounding areas has to offer.
Learn While Having Fun at the Johnny Appleseed Festival
The residents of the city come out in numbers to showcase their talents in food preparation, crafts, music and so much more. You get first-hand view and taste of their native dishes and delicacies that are bound to tantalize your taste buds and leave you both wanting and desiring more. You get to interact and socialize with people of diverse culture, learn about their area while you experience it all in different ways.
Benefits of the festival
The organizers first made the arrangements to host this festival because the city needed something that would pull insiders and outsiders together in love and fun. They started because it with hopes that it would continue to grow and so it did because 45 years later, it is still going strong!
It is also considered as one of the biggest community festivals that also gives back to the community and its people in a very big way. Non-profit organizations use the funds they generate from this event to enhance their charitable projects and activities.
For the festival, over 40 charities, organizations, and churches participate and reap those benefits. Being the largest fundraiser for those entities, they put all plans and preparation in place to get the most from it. The two-day festival covers a wide array of activities, with a mix of cultural diversity and fun-filled educational experiences.
What to expect at the Johnny Appleseed Festival
As a visitor looking for a good time, you will be amazed at everything there is to see and do! As you join in on the celebration you will get to experience…
Farmers’ Market – Here you get to experience and bask in the freshest fruits, vegetables, apple cider and flowers from the farmers of the city. They also have other farmers and growers coming in from Michigan and Ohio to who bring delicious delicacies such as bread, dip & sauce mixes, muffins, and cookies. Also, if you are a lover of honey, these booths will be your favorite stop!
Food Booths – The Festival is all in the 1800’s theme which means food prepared have to capture a preparation style from that era. It has a style of the John Chapman times, and foods prepared are done so over coal or wood fires. For sure, no electricity or propane is allowed as this will be a cheat for the festival! It is fun to watch them prepare the chicken and dumplings, or caramel corn in the large kettles.
For this festival, don’t look out for those deep fried Twinkies, or those elephant ears you are crazy about. You can expect grilled chicken as this is done over opened flames, ham or even freshly baked smoked bread. You can also watch as your meals are prepared in the open-air aspect of the festival…this is one of the most exciting features! Make sure you find the one-dollar cookies!
Antique and Primitives – This is where you can get all the antique pieces of art, jewelry or other goodies at an affordable cost. They ensure all the items are made with the exact tools and materials used in the ancient days as they are sourced from where need to be. They offer everything that is linked to the Shabby Sheik era, right back to fine Victorian and every other amazing goodie in between. The antiques range from dishes, kitchen items, vintage clothing, textiles, stone jars, furniture, jewelry, and more interesting items. Just to note, they do not allow the sale of any modern collectibles or those outside of the era.
This festival is easy to eat your way through… we started with the caramel corn, then hit the vegetable beef soup. The one dollar cookies caught our eye, ane we tried the sasparilla (root beer). The hubster fought the crowd for the chicken and dumplings, and fought us oof as we tried to taste it. Next time, we will all get our own!
They offer many other booths and areas to increase the fun and excitement especially for children, entertainment, crafts, Military encampment and trappers and traders. No worries, you will have no trouble getting in the festival as it is FREE! You might have to pay for parking, and will certainly want a little cash for all the fun things you will want to taste and try. Mark you calendars for this great festival in Fort Wayne, this isn’t one to miss!
