Apple Butter

Celebrating together is a tradition for many families that attended Saturday's 39th annual Apple Butter Festival. Kathryn Eppinger, who has lived in Berkeley Springs for 81 years, said she attends the festival every year with her family. Eppinger was at the festival with her daughter, Carol Suker, a Berkeley Springs High School graduate who lives in Maryland “We always watch the parade, listen to the music, look at the crafts, visit with friends and eat festival food,” Suker said.

katec@herald-mail.com "The Apple Butter Festival was really the core to tourism," says Jeanne Mozier, the "voice" of the 29-year-old Berkeley Springs, W.Va., event. That voice, which almost always is accompanied by Mozier's hearty laugh, will be audible this weekend from the bandstand in Berkeley Springs State Park in the center of town. She keeps things moving at the Saturday and Sunday festival - a variety of things, including musical performances, beard-and-mustache and hog-calling contests, a turtle race and egg toss.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. - The Apple Butter Festival, on Saturday and Sunday in Berkeley Springs, has been cooking up apple butter since 1974. That's a lot of apple butter if you do some apple-butter math. If one festival-goer has taken home a 5-pint jar in each of the 33 years since the festival started, he could have consumed the equivalent of 220 soda cans full of apple butter. And there's more to come - thousands of quarts more - at this year's Apple Butter Festival, said Beth Peters Curtin, director of the Berkeley Springs-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the event.

martinsburg@herald-mail.com Peering into a large kettle being stirred by David Rankin, people tried to guess its contents. Chili? Spaghetti sauce? Beans? With a shake of his head, Rankin could only wonder what the people were thinking. Perhaps they didn't realize they'd parked what seemed like a mile away and battled scores of people in downtown Berkeley Springs to attend the 30th Annual Apple Butter Festival. That reddish-brown, thick concoction in the kettle was about 25 gallons of apple butter.

Apple butter gives this dessert a double hit of apple flavor while adding sweetness and spice as well. Look for it with the jams and jellies at your market. For convenience you can make this crisp a day ahead, then reheat it while eating dinner. It's even more scrumptious when topped with whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla frozen yogurt. Start to finish: 1 hour 20 minutes (20 minutes active) Servings: 8 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/3 cup light brown sugar 3 tablespoons canola oil 6 large apples, such as McIntosh, peeled, quartered and thinly sliced 2/3 cup apple butter 1/2 cup dried cranberries Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. -- Allison-Antrim Museum, 365 S. Ridge Ave., will hold its second annual Fall Family Farm Day from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. People in period dress will demonstrate chores which were once performed in the fall by farm families in preparation for the winter months ahead. Shari Walker will demonstrate soap making. Other members of the Walker family, Keven and Amber, will aid in the demonstration of apple butter making, candle dipping, and boiling butternuts to make a natural stain for textiles.

Hagerstown Fly-In During the two-day Hagerstown Fly-In and Fairchild Family Reunion, Hagerstown Aircraft Services will be available so the public can see how aircraft are repaired, maintained and painted. Children ages 8 to 17 will have the opportunity to fly in a small plane free of charge. Today and Sunday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hagerstown Aircraft Services at Hagerstown Regional Airport. Call 301-733-7604. Family festival Heritage Academy will host a family festival.

waynesboro@herald-mail.com Barbara Zimmerman was walking to the next tent Friday morning, the first day of the three-day Mountain Heritage Arts & Crafts Festival. She was toting a bag, proof that she had already made a few purchases. "I've been coming here for 30 years," Zimmerman said. "I've seen it grow. I remember carrying my daughter in my arms. " Like many repeat patrons, Zimmerman said she has favorite crafters she sees every year. "They know me," she said.

1. Spooky tales The Ghosts of Green Hill Saturday, Oct. 29, Green Hill Farm, Sharpsburg. Ghost stories by a bonfire. Horse-pulled haunted tours, cost $10; free foror younger than 6. Civil War re-enactment, storytelling, live music, food and beverages, camping, period artisans. Period attire is encouraged but not required. Event is from 5 p.m. to midnight. $10 per person; free for children 10 and younger. Call 304-279-0016 or email erinmoshier@gmail.com. Go to GHFarm.webs.com/ghostsofgreenhill.htm . 2. Close counts Halloween Horseshoe Classic is a double elimination-style horseshoe tournament is open to singles and doubles Saturday, Oct. 29. Participants are encouraged to come in costume.

Celebrating together is a tradition for many families that attended Saturday's 39th annual Apple Butter Festival. Kathryn Eppinger, who has lived in Berkeley Springs for 81 years, said she attends the festival every year with her family. Eppinger was at the festival with her daughter, Carol Suker, a Berkeley Springs High School graduate who lives in Maryland “We always watch the parade, listen to the music, look at the crafts, visit with friends and eat festival food,” Suker said.

1. Dance, dance Dancing with the Arc Stars will be Saturday, Oct. 6, at Hager Hall Conference and Event Center, 901 Dual Highway, east of Hagerstown. Cocktail hour featuring a dancing exhibition by students from Barbara Ingram School for the Arts, 6 p.m. Dinner and dance competition at 7 p.m. The trio of dancers competing along with their professional partners are Heather Guessford, career development manager at Kaplan University, pictured; Joseph Ross, president and CEO of Meritus Health; and Clayton Wilcox, Washington County Public Schools superintendent.

It was elbow to elbow on the sidewalks of Main Street in Berkeley Springs Saturday as throngs of people browsed an array of items at the 38th annual Apple Butter Festival. The festival is not just about apple butter. There are hundreds of craft and food vendors as well as entertainment to keep the crowds busy. Laura Smith, spokeswoman for the Berkeley Springs Visitors Center, said about 40,000 people typically attend that two-day event. "There are more people this year than last year," Smith said.

Volunteers worked feverishly all morning Saturday as apple dumpling lovers lined up at the 28th annual Apple Festival at the Tayamentasachta Environmental Center. At the back of the long line, Brenda McQuate of Greencastle stood with Jennifer Piper and her daughters, Madison, 6, and Morgan, 2, as they waited to buy their local treats. "It's a tradition," McQuate said. "We've been doing it for about 20-some years, and they're delicious. "   A family-oriented event and fundraiser for the center's environmental education advisory committee, the apple dumplings always are a popular item along with a chicken barbecue around lunchtime, said Kerri Barnes, first-year director of the center, which is owned by the Greencastle-Antrim School District.

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- Three Berkeley Springs women representing three Morgan County historical organizations were selected to serve as grand marshals for the 37th annual Apple Butter Festival parade on Saturday, Oct. 9. "The parade committee decided to make Marching through Morgan County History the parade theme," Beth Curtin, festival coordinator, said in a press release. "It seemed appropriate to have the local history groups provide the grand marshal. " The parade starts Oct. 9 at 9 a.m. The three women who are scheduled to ride in the parade as grand marshals are Betty Lou Harmison, representing the Museum of the Berkeley Springs; Julia Linaweaver, representing the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR)

BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. -- The slight chill in the air did not keep people from attending the first day of the 36th annual Apple Butter Festival on Saturday. About 40,000 people are expected to attend the event this weekend, said Laura Smith of Travel Berkeley Springs. "It's cool and fall-like and it's festival weather," Smith said. "The changing leaves are a backdrop. It's nice weather. " More than 200 people gathered in front of the magistrate courthouse on Fairfax Street to watch the 36th annual turtle race, which set a record with 38 turtle entrants this year.

o Read more Cheryl Weaver columns at washingtoncountyliving.com Homecoming Week It's Homecoming Week at Clear Spring High School. Homecoming games are going on all week, and you can check out www.highschoolsports.net for game dates and times.  On Saturday, come on back to "old school soccer" and join in the alumni game on Saturday at 1 p.m. with those from odd graduating years playing against those from even graduating years. All players will receive a commemorative T-shirt.

GREENCASTLE, Pa. -- Allison-Antrim Museum, 365 S. Ridge Ave., will hold its second annual Fall Family Farm Day from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. People in period dress will demonstrate chores which were once performed in the fall by farm families in preparation for the winter months ahead. Shari Walker will demonstrate soap making. Other members of the Walker family, Keven and Amber, will aid in the demonstration of apple butter making, candle dipping, and boiling butternuts to make a natural stain for textiles.

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. -- There probably was enough cholesterol being grilled at Saturday's Big Bad Burger Contest to clog New York's Holland Tunnel. But the dozens of burgers concocted in the parking lot of Sunfire Hearth Patio and Spa on East Stephen Street were a hit with those tasting them. The event is the brainchild of Selina Meehleib, owner of Mountain State Meats at 1948 Shepherdstown Road, and Jason Roach, Sunfire's general manager. The two met at a home show this spring and came up with the idea of establishing an annual charity fundraiser.