ThisWeek CW 09/17/2015
http://www.thisweeknews.com/content/stories/canalwinchester/news/2015/09/14/apple-butter-day-volunteers-needed-to-help-cook-signature-treat.html
The weather hasn’t felt very fall-like yet, but that won’t stop the apple butter from being cooked in time for this year’s 42nd annual Groveport Apple Butter Day.
This year’s festival will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Oct. 10 at Heritage Park, 551 Wirt Road — but first, the apple butter needs to be made, and organizer Carla Cramer is hoping to find several more volunteers to help with that on Oct. 3.
“We will need help making the apple butter,” Cramer said. “On Oct. 3, we will be starting the fires at the log house around 6 a.m. and will be there until we jar the apple butter, usually around 1 p.m.
“People are needed to take turns stirring the apple butter and helping with the canning,” she said. “Please spread the word to your neighbors and friends. This is a community effort!”
Cramer invites organizations to get involved in the effort as well, but said no apple butter will be sold or distributed until Apple Butter Day.
Anyone interested in volunteering to make the apple butter should call Cramer at 614-580-9099.
The festival itself will again include 1800s-era craft demonstrations, numerous stands featuring handmade crafts, food concessions, vintage tractors, a hayride and several old-fashioned games and festival favorites such as pony rides, face painting and a petting zoo.
KidSpace will host the Groveport Senior Citizens bean dinner and a spelling bee for students in fourth and fifth grades will be held on the main stage.
“We pride ourselves on the fact that all of our entertainment is free, including the kids’ activities,” Cramer said.
This year’s festival will feature a celebration of the 200th birthday of Groveport’s historic log cabin. Visitors will be able to walk through it and view the typical lifestyle of a family from the mid-1800s.
This year’s quilt exhibit will take place at Town Hall and once again, a quilt will be raffled off. Raffle tickets are available now at Town Hall, or may be purchased on Apple Butter Day.
“We encourage you to stop by Town Hall to see quilts from past Apple Butter Day festivals,” Cramer said. “All previous raffle winners were contacted and we have 14 quilts on display. They will be there through October and the quilt that will be raffled this year is there also.”
The first Apple Butter Day was organized in 1974 by a group of people “who just wanted to have an activity to foster community togetherness and fun,” Cramer said.
“We’re happy to continue that tradition. These events are wonderful opportunities to participate in the community spirit that only a small town can provide.”