Chambersburg Apple Fest follows simple recipe for fun

October 18, 2008|By KATE S. ALEXANDER

CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. -- "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

A simple recipe, but according to organizers of Chambersburg's 27th annual Apple Fest on Saturday, it has been the key to success.

Tina Flohr, coordinator of the Downtown Business Council, said the 10,000 people who come every year to enjoy the apples, food and fun have come to expect many of the same things.

"People like finding their favorite vendor in the same spot every year," she said.

For the last few years, Flohr said the council has sold every last space, and while she could sell more, she said she is out of space.

The festival was started to celebrate the change of seasons and Franklin County's cash crop, but only a few of Saturday's 150 vendors sold the red and golden orbs.

Solomon's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Chambersburg has sold apple dumplings at the festival for the last six years.

In that short time, their pastries have almost become famous, Patsy Wildeson said.

The line for apple dumplings, apple pies, apple cakes, apple breads and apple whoopee pies stretched down the block Saturday, with some people toward the back saying they hoped there were enough left.

Terry and Ray Fell came to the festival Saturday to enjoy a few of the dumplings.

When asked what makes the Solomon's Church dumplings so tasty, Fell said it has to be the work of the church's many talented cooks.

"They are made by some good cooks with recipes that have been passed down," Terry Fell said.

While the apple might be the festival's namesake, Flohr said it is about more than just apples.

"There is nothing like coming out on a fall day to enjoy the weather," she said.

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