Joe Long operated a old-fashioned peeler and corer and threw the peels into a box. The peelings went to a local farm to feed to the cattle.
GRAND RAPIDS – An estimated 40,000 people will visit the village tomorrow, some to shop, some to eat, and some to pick up homemade apple butter.
The 47th annual Applebutter Festival draws throngs of people who will wait in line for hours for a jar of apple butter, which is made in kettles at Town Hall Park.
One batch has already been made at what has become known as the “Big Stir.” On Sunday, three kettles of apple butter will be put in jars.
It takes about six hours to make the apple butter, said festival Co-Chairman Chuck Thomas.
The fires will be lit at 4 a.m. on Sunday, with the first batch ready at 10 a.m. The remaining batches of fresh apple butter will be available at noon and 2 p.m., he said.
“Patience is the key word, and you’ve got to keep stirring,” he said.
They’ll start with seven gallons of apple cider syrup per kettle then keep adding apples.
Volunteers gathered and the old fire hall on Wednesday to peel and slice 35-40 bushels of apples.
Thomas started co-chairing the event with Steve Kryder in 2009. Kryder is one of the founders of the Applebutter Festival in 1977.
They committee went through a couple years with a lack of volunteers, especially peeling, but there has been a resurgence in the last couple years “which is fabulous,” Thomas said.
Thursday morning, youth from Napoleon planned to take the buckets of sliced apples and put them through the grinders to mash.
“That’s what we’ll use on Sunday,” Thomas said Wednesday surrounded by an estimated 50 volunteers.
He said they finished 1,310 jars at the Big Stir, which will be sold first. Another 2,100 jars will be made on Sunday.
People will wait in long lines for the apple butter, Thomas said.
“We added an extra kettle last year so people wouldn’t have to wait that hour and a half in line,” said Angie Studer. “You come here for apple butter, and you want to enjoy it.”
She said sales will start Sunday at 8 a.m. – even though the festival doesn’t officially open until 10.
“People always come early,” said Studer, who is in charge of the canning line and has been volunteering at the festival for four years.
“It’s a tradition, it’s history and I wanted to be a part of it,” she said.
They’ll use about 200 volunteers Sunday, Thomas said.
Thomas, who is training his replacement, said he intends to stay until the 50th festival.
Rosie Cox and Judy Pepper were slicing apples into five-gallon buckets.
Cox, who is 88, said she couldn’t remember how long she’s been volunteering at the peeling event.
“It’s fun, it’s fun to see people and help the community out,” she said.
Pepper, a Grand Rapids native and a member of the historical society board, said she feels it’s her job to help the community.
The Grand Rapids Historical Society organizes the event.
Joe Long said he has had four generations of his family help at the festival. He was throwing apple skins into a crate after using an old-fashioned crank apple peeler and corer.
“It’s an important community activity and I’m a firm believer in the historical society and what their mission is,” said Long, who is a former history teacher.
Mike Bailey, who was cranking away on a similar apple peeler and corer, said he has been a volunteer since 1998.
He said he’ll get the stirring going tomorrow morning.
Expenses, including advertising, shuttle service, EMS, local law enforcement and porta potties, come to approximately $90,000 and the historical society will make around $25,000, Thomas said.
The hard work is worth it, he said.
“I feel called to do this because I love Grand Rapids, and I think this is the best time of year to see Grand Rapids. The view over the river … you can’t hardly beat it,” he said.
The festival also offers entertainment, arts and crafts, and living history.
The Wes Linenkugel Quartet will be performing near the Town Hall. The Beaver Creek Music Tent will be set up on Beaver Street, where the Glass City Dixieland Band will be playing from 9-11 a.m., followed by Crabgrass from noon-2 p.m., and Ol’ Creek Road from 3-5 p.m.
The Plymouth Fife & Drum Corps will entertain visitors from 11 a.m.-noon near the Old Fire House and again at 1:30 p.m. on the towpath.
Crafts on Front Street is sponsored by the historical society and will feature 100+ booths that will run the full length of Front Street from West Street to Mill Street.
Crafts In Pirate Park is sponsored by the Grand Rapids Youth Baseball and Softball League and is located on the corner of East 2nd Street and Wapakoneta Road.
Labino Park crafts and vendors is sponsored by the Grand Rapids Cub Scout Pack #325 and is located at the intersection of Bridge Street and Third Street adjacent to the Grand Rapids Area Swimming Pool.
The children’s area next to Snyder’s Pizza will feature jugglers, a ventriloquist, magician, puppeteers and more.
Also, in the area of the Town Hall Park will be pioneer demonstrations, such as blacksmithing, tole painting, lace making, candle dripping, and more.
On the towpath along the Gilead Side-Cut canal that separates the village’s main street from the Maumee River, visitors will find craftsmen, soldiers, and settlers of the pioneer days of the old Northwest Territory. Re-enactors from the Civil War through World War II will display their gear, and visitors may even experience a battle on the banks of the Maumee River.
Farm and military exhibits can be found at the east end of Front Street.
Only non-profit organizations will be offering food booths – no commercial food trucks are allowed.
Sixteen shuttle buses and handicapped accessible vans will be available from the five parking lots into the village. Lots on Sycamore Road and Henry-Wood County Line Road are handicapped-accessible.
Parking is $15 per vehicle and the shuttles are free.
