50th annual Bayfield Apple Festival to include special touches, October 7, 8, and 9. A new song, giant Mass Band and past royalty will be featured

50th annual Bayfield Apple Festival to include special touches, October 7, 8, and 9

A new song, giant Mass Band and past royalty will be featured

Once upon a time, an orchard owner named James Erickson got a flat tire. The series of events that followed is the stuff of country fairy tales, with the end result being a Northern Wisconsin fall phenomenon - the Bayfield Apple Festival. With the expressed purpose of "bringing the people to the apples," Bayfield has been celebrating its local orchards and their delicious autumn crop for nearly 50 years. In honor of this golden event, 2011 promises to be a festival like none other, Friday, October 7th through Sunday, October 9th, from 10:00am to 5:00pm each day.

Touted by Wisconsin Trails Magazine as Wisconsin's "Best" festival, Bayfield welcomes over 50,000 visitors throughout the weekend, who come to celebrate the bounty of the fall harvest and scenic beauty of the Bayfield Peninsula, the gateway to the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Festival goers can stroll along "Orchard Lane" and find themselves in apple heaven: Caramel apples, apple pies, apple tortes, dumplings or tarts, apple sundaes, apple cider, bags and bushels of apples - even apple bratwurst, mustard, and butter. Bayfield Apple Festival

It's all about the apples this weekend in Bayfield and attendees are advised to bring a hearty appetite.

Along with over 60 orchard and food booths, the festival hosts nearly 150 arts and crafts vendors throughout Bayfield's picturesque downtown and the lakeside Memorial Park. Visitors will find a unique selection of wood carvings, pottery, jewelry and beadwork, watercolor and oil painting, metal sculpture, glass works, fiber arts and more. Visitors will also have the opportunity to learn more about the history of the area at the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore booth. The exhibit will focus on the natural history of Bayfield and offer activities designed to educate children about Ojibwe traditions and the rich cultural heritage of the Chequamegon Bay.

Special events take place throughout the long weekend. Big Top Chautauqua's Blue Canvas Orchestra will be treating guests to electrifying performances at the Grandstand stage at regular intervals during the festival. This highly acclaimed, professional troupe will be unveiling an original song written for the 50th annual Apple Festival in addition to showcasing songs from their own productions. Other festivities include an Apple Pie and Dessert Contest and Community Pie Social on Thursday evening, an Apple Peeling Contest on Saturday afternoon, and a glittering Venetian Boat Parade through the harbor on Saturday evening, including a pre-event concert by the Pipes and Drums of Thunder Bay. The weekend's grand finale - a hometown parade featuring nearly 70 entries - will have several exceptional touches for the 50th year, including a 600 member Mass Band with a special musical arrangement, and the return of nearly 50 years worth of Apple Festival royalty starting at 2:00pm on Sunday afternoon.

Visitors will also enjoy events at many of Bayfield's orchards, ongoing cruises of the Apostle Islands, a children's carnival and Apple Dumpling Gang Contest, live entertainment at local eateries and the newly opened Legendary Waters Resort and Casino and a traditional fish boil dinner on Saturday afternoon, followed by an evening dance. Download a 2011 Apple Festival schedule of activities here. Parking is available on the festival grounds as well as at Hauser's Superior View Farm, Erickson's Orchard and Legendary Waters Resort and Casino, who offer free shuttle transportation to and from the festival on Saturday and Sunday.

For more information about the Bayfield Apple Festival please visit bayfield.org or join us on our Apple Festival Facebook page to view historic photos, articles and fan stories.