Kimmswick Apple Butter Festival organizer Connie Schmitt said she is psyched for this year’s event, to be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 29-30 in the historic river town.
It’s free to attend the two-day event, which will feature hundreds of vendors, music, food and, of course, the Kimmswick Historical Society’s famous apple butter.
“I don’t know why I am looking so forward to this one. I guess it is because of the way the weather has been,” said Schmitt, who’s also Ward 1 alderwoman for Kimmswick. “We had almost all of our vendor spots filled (as of Oct. 14), and the city’s spaces have never been filled this early. That is a good thing.
“Some private property owners have spaces that I am sending people to. If someone does want to be a vendor, they can call City Hall and be directed to someone.”
Last year’s festival attracted about 120,000 people to Kimmswick and raised more than $87,000 for the city. The annual Apple Butter and Strawberry festivals make up about 80 percent of the town’s budget, according to Kimmswick officials.
The Strawberry Festival, which was held June 4-5, drew about 35,000 visitors over that two-day event.
“Looking at the Strawberry Festival this year and how huge that was, I think the Apple Butter Festival will be huge,” Schmitt said. “Even with gas prices and the economy being what they are, I think people will still come to the Apple Butter Festival. I think people like to do their Christmas shopping there because they are buying from small businesses and not big box stores. I think everyone will be ready to have a good time, and hopefully, there will be wonderful weather.”
Apple butter
The Historical Society pays a company to make most of the apple butter sold at the event, but society members make one big pot of the sweet treat each day of the event.
Festivalgoers are invited to the Apple Butter Shed on Market Street to view the product being made and even stir the kettle a few times.
Schmitt said 5,000 jars of apple butter will be prepared for the festival and a pint jar costs $6.
“They usually sell out of this famous apple butter, so get your jar or jars early,” Schmitt said.
The Kimmswick Historical Society keeps the profits from the sale of apple butter.
Schmitt said about 80 jars of strawberry jam remain from the Strawberry Festival that was held in June and will be sold during the Apple Butter Festival, while supplies last.
Demonstrations, exhibits
Turtle Ridge woodcarvers and Son of a Buck Blacksmithing will each show off their skills on Third Street each day of the festival, Schmitt said.
“They really are popular,” she said. “A lot of people really like to watch those kinds of activities and things like that. They also like to come back.”
Music
A new DJ act, Andrew Dahle, will play music throughout the festival on Saturday near City Hall, Schmitt said.
“He is very popular, and we look forward to having him,” she said.
Schmitt said a different DJ will perform Sunday, and karaoke will be held that day.
The Array Band is scheduled to perform from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, and Exit 180 will perform from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Schmitt said. The bands will perform on the Elm Street stage.
“(The Array Band) plays a little bit of everything, rock and roll, country, just all kinds of genres. They are very popular, and people do like them,” Schmitt said. “(Exit 180) also is very popular, and they play all different kinds of music as well.”
Children
Children will have plenty to keep them entertained, including a petting zoo, pony rides and bounce houses.
Schmitt said it will cost $4 for a child, who may be accompanied by an adult for free, to enter the petting zoo, and it will cost $1 for a feed cup.
She said pony rides cost $10, and children will be charged $5 for 15 minutes in the bounce houses.
“The children love to do those things,” Schmitt said. “Also, parents love to be able to stand around and talk and visit, while knowing their kids are having fun.”
Procter & Gamble will provide free diapers at a diaper-changing area near the park’s playground. MyLife Medical and Resource Center in House Springs will provide a nursing area next to the diaper-changing area.
“We haven’t had (a nursing area) for a couple of years,” Schmitt said.
An extra safety measure for children will be offered at the information booth where arm bands will be given out so parents may write contact information on them in case they become separated from their children during the festival.
“A lot of times, even if a child knows their phone numbers and parents’ names, they panic and can’t tell someone these things,” Schmitt said. “If that happens, someone can call the number after bringing the child to the lost child tent or another identifiable place in town to let a parent or adult know where to locate the child.”
Parking
Roads in Kimmswick will be closed from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Limited handicap parking will be available at Windsor Elementary School on Sixth Street.
Parking for others will be available on Hwy. K, weather permitting, as well as on the Windsor School District campus, 6208 Hwy. 61-67, in Imperial, where shuttles will take people to and from Kimmswick.
It will cost $5 to park at the Windsor campus, with proceeds going to the district’s band program.
Food, drink, booths
An array of food will be offered, from barbecue, fish, shish kebabs, funnel cakes and blooming onions to Greek, Columbian, Chinese and Thai foods and more, Schmitt said.
“There is such a good variety,” she said. “We have had some of our food vendors for 25 years. They know what they are doing. We also like to have a few new ones every year.”
Schmitt said the city expects more than 600 vendors at the festival.
“We have cut down in the city’s lots to make the aisles wider,” she said. “We did it last year because of COVID-19, and we decided we like it better like that. We may be down 20 vendors that we had been used to.”
There also will be a raffle for a prize donated by H.W. Herrell Distributing Co. in Imperial. Tickets cost $1 or six for $5, and they may be purchased at the information booth at Fourth and Beckett streets.
A map of major attractions is available on Kimmswick’s website, cityofkimmswick.org.
For more information, call City Hall at 636-464-7407.
