Bayfield Chamber of Commerce & Visitor Bureau
42 South Broad Street
P.O. Box 138
Bayfield, WI 54814


bayfield.org

50th annual Bayfield Apple Festival enjoys spectacular weather, crowds, and success

The 50th annual Bayfield Apple Festival enjoyed sunny skies, warm autumn temperatures and the peak of fall colors throughout the entire three day weekend. An estimated 60,000 festival attendees helped the community celebrate the orchard harvest while indulging in rich festival foods, apple delicacies and an abundance of vendor booths for shopping. Highlights of the weekend included an award presentation honoring 50 years of Apple Festival by Wisconsin State Senator Robert Jauch and Representative Janet Bewley, the entertainment of Big Top Chautauqua's Blue Canvas Orchestra, who showcased a new apple festival song written for the occasion, the return of 41 past Apple Festival Queens, and a fantastic Grand Parade which featured a 600-member Mass Band finale. The Ojibwe Dancers and Drummers also made a repeat appearance this year, and their cultural demonstrations were enjoyed by all.

In addition to these special events and traditional festival amenities, visitors had the opportunity to witness several competitions throughout the weekend. There were plenty of excited winners who took home trophies and/or gift certificates in recognition of their efforts.

The contest results are as follows:

The Apple Pie and Dessert Contest on Thursday, October 6th, had a nice turnout of entries this year, with around 40 pie and dessert entries total. The six categories were judged by 3-person panels of community members.

Home-Baked Apple Dessert:
1st Place - Jerry Simons
Runner-up - Samantha Beeksma & Breanna Ray

Commercial Apple Dessert:
1st Place - Sharon Johnson from The Pier Plaza
Runner-up - Pam Robbins from the Egg Toss

Home-Baked Creative Apple Pie:
1st Place - Kate Kasinski
Runner-up - Rosemary Bodin

Youth Apple Dessert:
1st Place - Mary Hitchcock
Runner-up - Jamee Hansen

Home-Baked All-American Apple Pie:
1st Place - Julie Radke
Runner-up - Amber Wilson

Commercial All-American Apple Pie:
1st Place - Beverly Ellestad from The Candy Shoppe
Runner-up - Pam Robbins from the Egg Toss

The Apple Peeling contest took place on Saturday afternoon with a captivated crowd present to witness the fine art of apple peeling. Several of last year's winners returned to defend their titles and improve their records. The results were as follows:

Adult Category:
1st Place - Brent McFarland from Manitowish Waters, WI with 253 3/4" (smashing his winning peel last year at 192 5/8")
2nd Place - Brett Lackie from Coon Rapids, MN with 131 1/2"
3rd Place - Michael Aasness from Fergus Falls, MN 97 3/4"

Youth Category:
1st Place - Clayton Miller from Fridley, MN with 67"
2nd Place - Justin Miller from Fridley, MN with 51 1/8"
3rd Place - Mya Austin from Duluth, MN with 2"

The parade enjoyed exceptional weather and attendance this year with 87 units participating (over twenty units more than last year), including 13 high school marching bands, 12 of whom performed in the Mass Band finale. The judging this year was done by representatives from the Apple Festival television sponsor, the Northland's NewsCenter. They voted on winners for the best floats in three different categories - Orchard, Business/Organization and Judge's Choice. The 2011 results are as follows:

Orchards:
1st Place - Weber Orchard
2nd Place - Hauser's Superior View Farm
3rd Place - Sunset Valley Orchard

Business/Organization:
1st Place - Chequamegon Humane Association
2nd Place - Luck Winter Carnival
3rd Place - Superior-Douglas County Ambassadors

Judges Choice: Ojibwe Drum and Dance Troop

The Apple Dumpling Gang was presented on the Grandstand stage on Sunday afternoon, just prior to riding the antique BART trolley in the grand parade. The Apple Dumpling Gang savings bond drawing winners were:

Wyatt Melek of Bayfield, WI
Parker Mikulsky of Pulaski, WI
Brittney Pratt of Washburn, WI

The Venetian Boat parade took place on Saturday evening in the Bayfield City Harbor. Winners for the Venetian Boat parade were:

1st Place - Predestined
2nd Place - Time-A-Weigh
3rd Place - Gaviidae

Stationary sailboat display winners were:
1st Place - Aura
2nd Place - Snow Goose
3rd Place - Tomar

Government boat parade winners were:
1st Place - The Osprey - Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
2nd Place - USCG 45653 - Coast Guard Station Bayfield

The overall "Traveling Trophy" winner was Aura, breaking the five-year winning run of Predestined.

Bayfield Fire Department Apple Festival Raffle Winners were:

Mark Smith from Washburn, WI - $10,000 cash
Don Bergman from Bayfield, WI - $2,000 cash
Marion Duffy from Red Cliff, WI - $1,000 cash
Barb (last name unknown) from Appleton, WI - $1,000 cash
Jay & 4 Friends from Merrill, WI - $1,000 cash
Dave Justice from Millington, IL - Grand Prize Polaris ATV

The Bayfield Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Bureau would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our 2011 Apple Festival Sponsors and the many Chamber members and community volunteers who helped to make the festival run smoothly.

Next year's Bayfield Apple Festival will be October 5th - 7th, 2012. For more information visit bayfield.org or call (800) 447-4094.

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