Apples, grapes to take center stage

By Preston Knight -- Daily Staff Writer

MT. JACKSON — Apples and grapes have a stronghold on the town's annual fall festival.

The second Apple-Grape Harvest Festival, which until last year had been confined to the celebration of apples, will take place Saturday and Sunday. No additional fruits needed to be added to the mix this year, said Delores Kagey, the co-chairwoman of the event committee organizing the festival for the Mt. Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce.

"The response was wonderful [last year]," she said. "This is going to be an annual thing. Grapes are in season the same time as apples."

All of the expected activities return, including various contests, helicopter rides, music, wine tasting, grape stomping, an antique car show and pony rides. One of the new additions is a BMW car show Saturday at Lasting Impressions Landscaping, Kagey said. Also different is that people will be dressed in 1950s and 1960s clothing for the antique car show Sunday, she said.

There will be several new crafters, too, including one from New York bringing personalized signs, sports items and finished wood products.

"Which totally surprised me because of gas prices," Kagey said.

The number of vineyards that will participate in the event is still unknown, but interest has been high, she said. The popularity of vineyards and wineries in Virginia sparked the chamber to expand its annual festival into something that incorporated grapes last year, though apples were to remain the focal point. With apple cider pressing, apple butter boiling, pie baking contests and more planned, that goal appears to be within reach again this year.

Tim Day, the manager of Maize Quest, wouldn't mind some attention paid to corn this year, either. There are a number of new attractions already open at Maize Quest, including a 60-foot barn slide, but drawing a crowd on festival weekend would go a long way to boost business, he said.

On Saturday, the business will host a cornhole tournament at 1 p.m., with possibly a $50 cash prize being awarded. Cornhole entails tossing small sewn sacks of corn onto a slanted board that has a hole cut in it. Day said he would like to hold tournaments weekly.

Also Saturday, there will be bungee basketball, a talent show from 4 to 6 p.m. and karaoke from 6 to 10 p.m. at the maze. Visitors can participate in all events for $5.

"We're trying to get involved with [the festival]," Day said.

The festival is scheduled to have activities from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call the chamber at 477-3275.

* Contact Preston Knight at pknight@nvdaily.com