Festivals & Happenings

2009 marks the 35th year running that Applecrest has invited the community to celebrate and share in the harvest. Our Festivals offer a break from the tangle of everyday living with pure and simple, honest-to-goodness family fun. They’re a time when moms and dads, grandparents and grandchildren, can reconnect with each other and with the land to make memories that last a lifetime. So, grab the gang and come visit us at Applecrest where, as always, admission and parking is FREE. See you at the farm!

Our Fall festivals launch on the first weekend in September and run from 11:00a to 5:00p, both Saturday and Sunday, every weekend, through the end of October. Here’s what you can expect:

• Pick-your-own Apples, Raspberries, Peaches & Pumpkins
• FREE live Folk and Bluegrass music (beginning at 1:00p)
• Horse-drawn Hayrides (last ride at 4:30p)
• Children's Petting Zoo
• Face Painting & Balloons
• Pie Eating Contests
• Apple Pie & Ice Cream
• Old-Fashioned Hot Cider Donuts
• Make-your-own Scarecrow
• Press-Your-Own apple cider
• Our Famous Corn Roast featuring: grilled gourmet sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, fire-roasted corn, Maine clam chowder, fresh pressed apple cider and more.

ORCHARD CROSS BIKE RACE: Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009

Our very own sprint to the finish! Applecrest is proud to host NorEast Cycling and the 1st Annual Orchard Cross bike race. This unique 100 year-old cycling tradition is a real treat to watch, especially at Applecrest. With plenty of sleek spandex, suped-up bikes and a looped multi-terrain orchard course, this cyclo-cross event is one not to be missed. For more info download the PDF.

STORYBOOK HAYRIDES: October 24th, 25th, 31st & Nov. 1st 2009 (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

Beloved fairy tale characters take to our orchards, performing vignettes for enthralled children perched on a roving hay wagon. In eight lively scenes, kids partake in the classics, warning Little Red of the approaching wolf, watching Humpty Dumpty have his great fall, listening to a gangsta rappin’ spider in Little Miss Muffet, and much more. Along the journey, the children’s waiting goody bags are filled with wholesome Halloween treats.

Fee: $5 per adult, $7 per child (including goody bag). Proceeds help finance the Winnacunnet High School Drama Club’s yearly sojourn to take-in a Broadway show. Come support the students and enjoy some good, old-fashioned trick-or-treating.

ANTIQUE TRACTOR PLOW DAY: Sunday, October 25th 2009

What better way to end a great season then to....PLOW! We're very pleased to once again welcome the East Coast Antique Tractor Club for our 2nd Annual Applecrest Plow Day. An army of old-timer tractors will be helping us get ready for winter, ripping and roaring and turning earth all the farm over.  So, gather little Jack and Jane and join us here at the farm to revel in the fall foliage and see how they used to do it.

ANTIQUE CAR SHOW: Sunday, October 18th 2009

Like old cars? Well, this is the place to be. For the 8th year running, Applecrest is hosting the North Shore Antique Car Club and forty-odd of their best and brightest. Come marvel at the chrome gleam of some of the coolest cars ever to hit the road.

ANTIQUE TRACTOR SHOW: Sunday, September 13th 2009

Join us for our 3rd Annual Antique Tractor Show featuring an amazing array of old-timer antique tractors, courtesy of the East Coast Antique Tractor Club. From a 1919 steel-wheeled International to an extremely rare 1958 John Deere 730 diesel, there’s plenty of eye candy for all.

PEACH FESTIVAL: Sunday, August 23 2009 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.)

Our annual celebration of all things peachy! Applecrest is home to more than 20 distinct varieties of succulent tree-ripened fruit. Come spend the day and pick ‘em straight from the tree. Our peach festival features free live bluegrass music, horse-drawn hayrides, tractor rides to the peach orchard, our famous corn roast and sausage grill, hot cider donuts and every peach inspired yummy under the sun.  

STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL: Sunday, June 23rd 2009 (9 a.m. to 3 p.m.)

Four rolling acres of juicy berries and a cool spring-fed pond provide the backdrop for a fun-filled day of Pick-Your-Own strawberries, free live bluegrass music, tractor drawn hayrides, face painting, gourmet sausage grill, cider donuts and a bevy of strawberry inspired delicacies from our very own scratch kitchen and bakery.

2009 FESTIVAL MUSIC SCHEDULE & LIST OF PERFORMERS:

Note: Please call ahead for up-to-the-minute festival info and picking conditions, as Mother Nature sometimes dashes our best intentions.

Strawberry Festival
Sun, Jun 23: Chad Hollister

Peach Festival
Sun, Aug 23: White Mountain Blue Grass

Labor Day Weekend Festival
Sat, Sep 5: Granite Grass
Sun, Sep 6: Granite Grass
Mon, Sep 7: Granite Grass

Harvest Kick-Off
Sat, Sep 12: Granite Grass
Sun, Sep 13: Southern Rail (also featuring our 3rd Annual Antique Tractor Show)

Indian Summer Festival
Sat, Sep 19: Granite Grass
Sun, Sep 20: Old Time Blue Grass Singers

Autumn Equinox
Sat, Sep 26: White Mountain Blue Grass
Sun, Sep 27: White Mountain Blue Grass

Oktoberfest
Sat, Oct 3: White Mountain Blue Grass
Sun, Oct 4: White Mountain Blue Grass

Columbus Day Weekend Festival
Sat, Oct 10: White Mountain Blue Grass
Sun, Oct 11: White Mountain Blue Grass
Mon, Oct 12: Southern Rail

Harvest Hoedown
Sat, Oct 17: Granite Grass
Sun, Oct 18: White Mountain Blue Grass (also featuring our 8th Annual Antique Car Show)

Storybook Hayrides
Sat, Oct 24: Southern Rail
Sun, Oct 25: Granite Grass (also featuring our 2nd Annual Antique Tractor Plow Day)

Storybook Hayrides & Harvest Closer
Sat, Oct 31: Granite Grass
Sun, Nov 1: Southern Rail (also featuring the 1st Annual Orchard Cross Bike Race)