HENDERSONVILLE - Each year over Labor Day weekend, people flock to Hendersonville for the annual NC Apple Festival.
This year is no different as hundreds filled the streets of downtown Hendersonville on Aug. 30, shopping for the perfect apple or other crafts. From newcomers to seasoned professionals, the festival is full of vendors and participants alike.
The 2024 Apple Festival marks the 78th iteration of the event, which started in 1946. According to past Times-News reporting, the inaugural event took place in April of that year.
According to the Apple Festival website, the event averages 250,000 attendees each year.
Two of those attendees, Chuck and Gail Coursey, made the drive from Greenwood, South Carolina, to enjoy the festival for the day on Aug. 30. The occasion marked the first visit to the Apple Festival for Gail Coursey and the “sixth or seventh” visit for her husband.
For the Courseys, the best part of the festival is seeing the people and the crafts they create.
“I like that you can buy stuff from somebody that made it with their hands,” Gail Coursey said. “That’s a dying art.”
Gail Coursey took advantage of her first visit to the festival by trying an apple cider slushy, a treat she said she has never tasted anything like before.
Chuck Coursey said he grew up going to his grandparents' apple farm in Mountain Rest, South Carolina. There he said he grew accustomed to apples and cider.
As rain started falling, the opening ceremony of the Apple Festival was held Aug. 30 at 2:15 p.m.As part of the ceremony, the grand marshals of the King Apple Parade were introduced as Wanda and Roy Williams, the retired UNC Chapel Hill basketball coach.
Roy Williams told the crowd gathered that he and his wife were "flattered" to be asked and involved with the Apple Festival this year.
Both of the Williams' grew up in Western North Carolina and the couple now has a house in Flat Rock.
"We absolutely love it, walking up and down the street," Roy Williams said. "This is home for us. We appreciate you adopting us."
Also at the opening ceremony was the announcement of the 15th annual Apple Grower of the Year. The award went to Cory Justus of Justus Orchard.Fair Waggoner of United Community Bank presented the award to Justus and described him as "a young man just getting started."
Justus Orchard is a fifth-generation family-owned farm and orchard and was one of the first in the area to offer a you-pick service.Justus studied agriculture at North Carolina State University and worked as a a deputy with the Henderson County Sheriff's Office before returning to work at Justus Orchard.
How is Henderson County apple crop this season?
Apple farmers at the festival report good crops so far this year, despite some hail earlier in the season.
Laura Owenby was attending the Apple Festival with her family farm, Owenby Farms in Hendersonville. She said this was the second year the farm has participated in the festival as a vendor, though she grew up attending the festival. Owenby said her favorite part of the Apple Festival is meeting new people.
For her family farm, Owenby said the crop is looking good and did not see too much damage from hail storms earlier this year.
For Creasman Farms, also in Hendersonville, the crop was also impacted by hail, but farm manager Colby Buchanan said the farm was able to produce a “beautiful large crop of apples this year.”
Creasman Farms has been attending the Apple Festival for 27 years, and Buchanan said it has become a tradition that she looks forward to each year.
“Seeing people in the community that I know and love that I haven’t seen all year,” Buchanan said.
While Dale Lamb of Ottanola Farms in Hendersonville did not report any problems with hail this season, he did say there were dry spells that impacted the crop. He said heavy rain later helped the crop, and the farm is “good” now.
“We’ve just gotten started,” Lamb said. “But we’ve got a good crop, and it’s been going well.”
Lamb said his Apple Festival goal is to “greet the people and give them a good product.” He said 2024 marks Ottanola Farm’s 33rd year at the festival.
The Apple Festival continues through Monday, Sept. 2, from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
According to the festival website, a “limited amount” of vendors will set up from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Monday and will take a break for the King Apple Parade at 2:30 p.m. The parade runs from North Main Street and Asheville Highway to South Main Stree and East Caldwell Street.
More:East Henderson High School senior named 2024 NC Apple Festival Ambassador
More:Hendersonville Apple Festival, Labor Day Parade arriving soon: What to Know
Karrigan Monk is the reporter for Black Mountain News and Hendersonville Times-News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kmonk@blackmountainnews.com.
