By Darlene Brace
When the calendar says that summer is officially over in September, most people that live in southern Chautauqua County know that it’s almost time for the Busti Apple Festival, as it’s always the last weekend in September. This year’s festival is presented by the Busti Historical Society, and it will be the 50th year anniversary for the Busti Apple Festival to take place, (rain or shine) in the Hamlet of Busti. It will be held September 28th-29th, from 11am-5pm, on Lawson Road near the five corners.
The Busti Historical Society refers to this area as the campus from the 1800s, and it is the area near the Busti Mill and Museum grounds. As part of the festival, you can step back in time to the 1800s, where you can see some demonstrations and displays. You can visit the restored grist mill near the Millers House, that was built back in the 1800s, and it’s still functioning today. Behind the Miller’s House is where there will be ongoing old-time demonstrations by skilled craftsman, demonstrating historical skills and trades such as how to press cider, make flax and weaving, make leather items, and quilting to name a few. You can also tour the recently renovated museum that houses artifacts and pictures of Busti’s early days. The museum has a schoolhouse room, post office, and country store as exhibits to explore. To encourage learning about the history of the area, there will be a Civil War Encampment, where several tents will be set up to show how soldiers lived during the Civil War time. This historical part of the festival is a fun learning experience for all those that attend it.
Besides having fun with the historical activities, the Apple Festival has a lot more to offer. There will be some acoustic string music performances on and off during the festival, as well as a dulcimer group playing from 1pm-3pm on Saturday. For children there will be pony and wagon rides, face painting, and gem mining.
The festival always has an abundance of local art and craft booths and vendors, selling a large variety of goods such as seasonal and home decorations, quilts, clothing, accessories, jewelry, soaps, candles, and much more. Until this year, there had only been homemade craft vendors allowed. This year the area for the vendors has been expanded. There will be over 100 vendors there, including commercial vendors and non-profit vendors. This will provide more diversity of products and services for you to browse and shop at. Also new this year, there will be Wi-Fi for vendors to connect with, so customers can pay for their purchases with credit cards instead of just cash as it had been in the past.
Along with the craft vendors, there will also be a wide variety of food vendors as well. One of the best parts of the Busti Apple Festival is all the yummy things that there are to eat. The Bucket Brigade Pizza Truck will be there, as well as many other food vendors that will provide many choices for you and your family. You will also find Apple Festival favorite treats like homemade pies, apple cider, kettle corn, and apple butter, as well as apples and other locally grown fruits and vegetables. The Merritt Winery’s Slush Bus will be there, serving their popular Sangria Wine Slush and XTC Wine Slush.
Last year, the festival became a two-day festival, and it went so well, with over 5,000 people attending it, that they decided to keep the two-day format for this 50th anniversary celebration. The admission is still $5 for adults and children under 12 are free. They have also upgraded to a 20-acre parking area to provide more parking just south of the five corners area. You can follow the signs for further assistance.
The proceeds from the Apple Festival are the main fundraiser for the Busti Historical Society. The Historical Society would like to thank their sponsors, Wilcox Brothers, The Bear Lake Inn, The Busti Cider Mill, Morgan Stanley-Todd R. Allen, The Frewsburger Restaurant, The Bucket, Brad Buck Trucking, and Geraci & Company. Their continued support makes this great festival possible.
The Busti Apple Festival has been around for as long as most of us can remember. It’s a great community event and a family fun way to spend a beautiful fall day enjoying the 19th century culture, and it is full of fun activities, vendors, and great food. Come and celebrate the Busti Apple Festival’s 50th anniversary milestone, and you will be glad that you did.