Bringing in Fall with an Apple Harvest Festival

The Apple Harvest Festival started 25 years ago “as an outreach to the public—a way to bring people to Retzer, to see the lands and trails, and to see the new Visitor Center (built in 1986)," according to Larry Kascht, Retzer Nature Center supervisor.

"It was a way to connect Retzer with a specific event that was good for families and that had a connection with the local land history,” Kascht said.

More than 40 different varieties of apples will be making a crisp presence as the community celebrates the start of fall during the 25^th annual Apple Harvest Festival at Retzer Nature Center.

The festival takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and costs $5 per carload. All of the apples are from local orchards and one variety, the Heirloom Apple, originated before the 1900s. There will be many crafts for kids to choose from in the children’s area, as well as entertainment for adults.

“It’s been 25 years of always ever-changing family fun,” said Ginny Bocek, parks program specialist with .

There will be many crafts in the children’s area. Some of the things the kids can make are kazoos, puppets, magnets and sun catchers. Each activity is between one and four tickets. Tickets can be purchased for 25 cents each and all of the activities in the area can be completed for $10.

The Charles Z. Horwitz Planetarium will be showing “Saturn, Jewel of the Heavens” every half hour from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The show is new this year and costs $2 for adults and $1 for children and seniors. Johnny Appleseed Tours will occur at 10:15 a.m., 12:15 p.m. and 2:15 p.m.

Although the guide no longer takes the specific role of “Johnny,”  “the subject matter of the hike has been discovery-based land exploration, history of the area, and specific apple-related interpretation,” said Kascht.

Other Apple Harvest Festival Activities

Horse-drawn wagon rides will take place between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

There will also be music throughout the day. Folk group Apple Jam will be playing from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then Ken Lonnquist from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sreangan Binn will be entertaining the Children’s Area from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

In addition to the feast of apples themselves, there will also be a food tent including items such as homemade apple pie, apple crisp and caramel apples. Use your best apple pie recipe to enter its product in the Apple Pie Contest. People can enter up until 10:30 a.m. and the judging will take place at 11 a.m.

The festival is expecting about 4,000 people, depending on the weather.

“It’s a great event that everybody can enjoy from young to old," Bocek said. "… I see many generations coming together, and it is a great event to have as almost a family custom."