By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com
It’s been a tough year for apple farmers in Ontario. Despite this year’s hardships, the popular annual Wellesley Apple Butter and Cheese Festival are gearing up for yet another successful event. The one day event will be held on Sept. 29, as it is always held on the last Saturday in September. The festival has been running for more than 25 years and seeks to promote the town of Wellesley’s major businesses - Jantzi & Sons Ltd (Wellesley Brand Apple Products) and the J.M. Schneider Cheese Factory.
The event draws in people from all over Ontario as well as visitors as far away as the U.S. The one day festival has a jam packed schedule full of activities. The following are some of the festival highlights:
•Pancake breakfast
•The Market
•Cider Mill tours
•Antique car displays
•Antique tractor display & parade
•Quilt auction
•Horseshoe tournament
•Line & clog dancing
•Farm tours
•Steam sawmill & wood carvers
•Model boat regatta
There will be a lot of local food available, mostly around Wellesley’s famous apples. Some of the treats include apple dumplings, apple fritters, apple butter, apple cider and some old fashioned home cooking with pigtails, sauerkraut and roast beef for dinner. The festival is an example of a community initiative to help raise funds for special projects for the village of Wellesley. In the past, funds that were raised supported buying parkland, building an arena, building a ball diamond, buying equipment for the fire department as well as a number of other projects. More information about the festival can be found at http://www.wellesleyabcfestival.ca/home