Americana Furniture to Host "Applefest Baked Apple Pie Contest" Nov. 7 at "Americana Applefest & Veteran's Day Celebratio

As part of their upcoming Saturday, November 7th “Americana Applefest and Veteran’s Day Celebration”, Americana Furniture in Waterford will hold an Applefest Baked Apple Pie Contest that will be judged that day by members of Waterford VFW Post 6573. The Celebration is being held to introduce the iconic furniture store’s recent opening of their newly-created Design Center which offers expert design services for every room in a house for their customers.

The “Americana Applefest & Veteran’s Day Celebration” will be held rain or shine from 12:00 noon to 4:00 p.m. with the winner of the Applefest Baked Apple Pie Contest’s $250 gift certificate toward the purchase of Americana Furniture and/or accessories announced between 1:00 and 1:30 p.m. The Celebration will feature live music by Still Pickin’ country-western and bluegrass band, a strolling magician, children’s puppet shows and contests, face-painting, free apple pie, hot and cold apple cider, apple cider donuts, popcorn, raffle prizes throughout the day, plus a 10% discount on all in-store purchases.

“Americana Furniture has been in southeastern Connecticut since 1922,” stated Kathy Hansen, Americana Furniture General Manager. “For more than nine decades, this continuously-family-owned business is today offering these Essay Contests to celebrate the recent opening of our new Design Center and the success of our in-store Apple Pie Café. In addition to offering a comfortable, quiet location where customers can relax and discuss their design options, the Apple Pie Café has become a favored gathering place for local area community groups, business associations, family members and friends.”

Established in Waterford in 1922, Americana Furniture at 35 Great Neck Road has been a favorite furniture shopping destination for more than 90 years. The business began when cousins Hilbert and William Hendel began peddling their portable house ware products on foot throughout the New London, Groton and Mystic area. Six years later they opened Hendel’s Furniture in downtown New London. Their business prospered and in 1949 the cousins purchased several acres of land in Waterford on which stood a red dairy barn. Today the icon location, without the dairy cows, complete with the barn and silo continues as home to Americana Furniture.

“This retail store was founded on the principal of ‘no sales pressure’, stated Jon Hendel, current president and grandson/great-nephew to the Hendel cousins. “Our legendary store offers a relaxed, comfortable, welcoming atmosphere for shoppers to wander through rooms filled with inspiring ideas for all furniture styles for every room in a house. This heralded business is the only family-operated furniture store in the region for more than 90-years. We are also the only store to also offer complementary design services to all our customers, plus furniture that fits every budget offered in our showroom and our ‘purchase and carry’ warehouse. Our newly-launched Design Center offers highly-individualized service for our discerning customers. Every day, our experienced staff strives to provide every customer with a depth of knowledge and expertise that assures them they can be confident with their furniture purchases. We are proud today to continue the family tradition of good value, fair pricing, and personal service.”

In celebration of the store’s new Design Center, on November 7th between 1:00 and 1:30, Americana Furniture will also announce a “Veteran’s Room Makeover”. Americana Furniture will donate the “Makeover” to a Waterford-area U.S. Veteran and his or her family in conjunction with the national Veteran’s Day celebration. “We’ve been working with the non-profit organization Make-A-Home-Foundation,” explained Hansen, “to identify a local area Veteran for whom we will re-design one or two rooms in their home using primarily furniture made in America. During the November 7th Celebration, we will introduce that family and announce when we will reveal our room re-design in time for the upcoming holiday season.”

To enter the Applefest Baked Apple Pie Contest, bring submissions to the “Americana Applefest & Veteran’s Day Celebration” at the Americana Furniture store at 35 Great Neck Road in Waterford between 12:00 noon and 12:30 p.m. on November 7. Each contest applicant will be asked to fill out an entry form to be included in the judging by the Waterford VFW Post volunteers between 12:30 and 1:00 p.m. inside Americana Furniture’s popular Apple Pie Café.

Photographs of the contest winner will be taken with members of the Americana Furniture staff, therefore all contest applicants will be asked to agree on their entry applications to have their photograph included in publicity that will appear in local area newspapers and on social media sites after the “Americana Applefest & Veteran’s Day Celebration”.

For more information, visit www.americanafurniture.net, or call 860-442-8587. Americana Furniture is open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.