By: Valery Warner and Laila Schwin
September 23, 2021
Can you smell the Fall in the air? Yesterday, the Fall season officially began, and this upcoming weekend marks the 48th annual Johnny Appleseed Weekend at Mapleside Farms. From September 24-26, people can come visit the festival and all of the activities that it has to offer.
This event is open to the public from 4:00-9:00 p.m. tomorrow, 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.
The Johnny Appleseed Weekend is a part of a longer ongoing event at Mapleside Farms: The Fall Festivals and Pumpkin Village. All of these events feature live entertainment and music, pig races, hayrides, and tours of the Mapleside orchards. Mapleside Farms has many other things to offer such as various shops, corn mazes, and their 311 foot long “Super Slide”.
This weekend’s events will also feature interactive performances throughout the property about historical figures and legends such as Paul Bunyan, Amelia Earhart, and Johnny Appleseed. There will also be stage productions of The Princess and the Pumpkin, which is an ongoing part of the Mapleside Fall events.
Most tickets for the Johnny Appleseed Weekend are being sold in advance for set time slots on the Mapleside website. Walk-up tickets are available but are much more limited and will not be sold anymore during the day if the farms reach a set capacity.
While masks are not required outdoors, they are strongly recommended if social distancing is not possible. Buildings and indoor spaces will be limited to a certain number of guests at all times along with frequent sanitizing stations all around the farm.
This year’s festival will also celebrate the 247th birthday of Johnny Appleseed. Johnny Appleseed (also known as Jonathan Chapman) was an American pioneer said to bring apple trees to North America. He planted nurseries of apple trees and entrusted their care to the local people in the areas surrounding the nurseries. He planted these nurseries throughout large parts of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Ontario, as well as the northern counties of present-day West Virginia.
Chapman left a lasting legacy that has been honored for the last 48 years by the annual festival at Mapleside Farms. His story is told and exhibits honor his importance.
The festival is sure to be a fun, family event this Fall season for anyone who decides to attend.
Fall is here, and so is the Johnny Appleseed Weeked at Mapleside Farms!
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