Cottrel: Don’t miss this Enon festival, one of the highlights of fall

There is something about the Enon Apple Butter Festival that always makes me smile.

Maybe it’s the scent of apple butter bubbling in copper kettles over open fires. Perhaps it’s the gathering of familiar smiling faces and the easy going atmosphere of this definitive fall festival. After 38 years, the Enon Community Historical Society genuinely knows how to put on a lovely festival.

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The Enon Apple Butter Festival will be held Saturday, Oct. 14, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 15, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Some people come to Apple Butter to visit and graze all day long. The food choices are superior. They have the traditional regular offerings like funnel cakes, chicken noodles, bean soup, apple dumplings, grilled pork chops and cootie corn, in addition to a variety of tasty offerings by clubs, organizations and food vendors. I always pick up something “to go” for lunch the next day.

And of course there is cider or coffee to have with your dessert, or should I say desserts? There are so many choices.

This was one of the first area events that we visited when house shopping and it was one of the reasons we fell in love with this community.

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The number of quality vendors and artisans who line Xenia Street and the parking lot of the old Enon Elementary has now grown to 119. Sometimes this is where I buy my first Christmas present of the season.

“All … booths are juried ahead of the event, with no duplication, and must be handmade arts, crafts,” said Ann Armstrong-Ingoldsby, who has been involved with the Enon Community Historical Society since it began in 1978.

My favorite part of the Apple Butter Festival has to be stirring the apple butter. There are six huge copper kettles that will be filled with apples and a secret combination of spices and stirred with old fashioned wooden paddles over open fires. The first kettle is started well before dawn.

If you ask politely, you might to get to try your hand at the stirring for a couple of turns.

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Once the apple butter reaches the perfect thickness it is quickly carried into a neighboring tent and canned in glass jars for sale. The lines of apple butter lovers grow as folks watch the apple butter bubbling and try to anticipate with the next batch will be ready to purchase.

Not far from the festival grounds, visitors will find the Michael Barry Research Center on Indian Drive near the Adena Mound. This is the Enon Community Historical Society headquarters. It’s open for visitors to see its genealogical research library and the new Native American displays. The early 19th century log house will be open on Saturday for visitors.

Native American artifacts on display include early stone tools, celts, hammers, axes and points (arrowheads) from the immediate area.

Other Native American items from all over the country will also be on display for this event. These include Western pueblo-made pottery, rattles, dolls, quill and bead work, jewelry, pipes, and rugs from different regions and time periods.

In addition to the Apple Butter Festival, this display will be open for viewing on Tuesday and Thursday, 1-3 p.m., and Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Pets aren’t allowed at the Apple Butter Festival. Organizers ask that pet owners leave their pups in the air conditioned comfort of their own homes and safety of their own familiar yards.

Right now the weather forecast is promising and even if it’s a bit damp one day, there should be no mud because the festival is on paved surfaces.

This festival is located right in the middle of Enon and there is plenty of free parking. Do wear comfortable shoes because you won’t want to miss any of it.

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