- Herr Kater and the Apple Tree Puppet Show
- Triad Scottish Fiddlers and Friends
- Hogway Speedway – The Official Racing Pigs – Sponsored by Mr. BBQ
Fried apple pies, apple cider and other apple products will be featured but the event will also offer much, much more. The crowds of around 9,000 people will also enjoy music, dancing, children’s games and activities, book signings, craft vendors, colonial re-enactors and more.
The day will consist of several music concerts as well as dancing by Pat Adkins and the South Fork Cloggers. Also, guests will be able to pick their winner at the “Hogway Speedway: The Official Racing Pigs.” Historical interpreters will demonstrate spinning, pottery, and basket making.
Apples from local orchards will be available for purchase along with a variety of food and drinks..
Admission is free but there will be a charge for crafts, food, and drinks
Main Stage Music
These are the participants for this years event:
Apple History at Bethabara Park
Bethabara is the 1753 site of the First Moravian settlement in North Carolina
When Moravians arrived in Bethabara in 1753, they almost immediately set about planting apple trees from seeds brought from Europe. According to records, it was recommended to plant six apple trees for every family member.
Within a few years, all the hills around the Park were filled with apple orchards. It is estimated between five and eight acres, according to the maps the Moravians kept.
Apples were among Bethabara’s biggest products, probably not far behind cattle. The settlers also probably traded grafts from apple trees to pioneers who passed through Bethabara on their way our west.
Historically, apples were a big part of American life. In the Piedmont, people mostly dried apples but the Moravians built root cellars where fresh apples could be kept for a long time.
Apples were used the same as today – dried apples in pies, apple cider to drink, as a side dish and as vinegar.
We celebrate Apple Festival with a tribute to the Moravian way of life on this day.
