This weekend, check out the Apple Butter Festival in Oxford

The 59th Annual Apple Butter Festival, presented by The Oxford Museum Association is back this weekend at the Hueston Woods Pioneer Farm. This fall celebration includes fresh apples, apple butter, apple cider, funnel cakes, kettle corn and more.

“We have gained a great reputation of providing quality exhibitors, entertainment, and fall produce,” said Bob Carmean, event chair.

Wild Water Band will perform bluegrass music from 2-4 p.m. both days, and DJ John will be playing everyone’s favorite bluegrass tunes from 10 a.m.-noon.

More than 80 artists and crafters will sell items such as fine arts, homemade jams, leather items, pottery, candles, jewelry, soaps and fall décor. A variety of food trucks featuring burritos and sandwiches to ice cream and lemon-shakeups will offer items for purchase.

Apples and apple cider will be for sale from Wesler Orchards & Farm Market, an Ohio producer, who has been part of the festival for many years. There will also be 9 oz. jars of apple butter for sale produced by Yoder’s Fine Foods, another Ohio company.

The historical sites on the property will also be open. Historical sites include an 1836 homestead, the Doty Homestead, which is period-decorated, and the Pioneer Barn, an 1840s/1850s Pennsylvania Bank Barn. There will also be spinning, weaving and blacksmithing demonstrations. Master Gardeners of Butler County will also be there.

Other highlights of the event will include apple butter-making demonstrations from noon-3 p.m. with assistance from the Eagle Scouts, Epsilon Tau Pi, and visits with naturalists from Hueston Woods State Park, who will bring raptors such as hawks, owls or eagles, from 12:15-1:15 p.m. There will also be alpacas at the event with a chance to pet and feed the animals at the petting zoo. The apple butter made during the demonstrations will be given away to guests as free samples.

“It’s a bucket list kind of a thing. Families in and around Oxford, who are looking for something to do on a fall day, enjoy visiting us, and spending time outdoors,” Carmean said.

The festival is a major fundraiser for the Oxford Museum Association, and proceeds from the event support the educational programming and preservation activities of the Oxford Museum Association. Thousands of guests typically turn out for the event.


How to go

What: Apple Butter Festival

When: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Oct. 5-6

Where: Hueston Woods Pioneer Farm 6924 Brown Road, Oxford (next to the golf course)

Cost: $5 per adult or $10 per car, Children 12 and younger are free.

More info: www.oxfordmuseumassociation.com. Dog-friendly event.

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