The Unicoi County Apple Festival kicks off this week in Downtown Erwin starting Friday at 8 a.m. and ending Saturday at 8 p.m.
This is the 42nd time the town has held the festival that sees over 100,000 people flock there every year for an array of fall activities.
Over the years, it has made the Southeast Tourism Society’s list for the top 20 events in the southeast, as well as being awarded the Northeast Tennessee Tourism Association’s Pinnacle Award three times.
The event features the work of over 350 vendors from photography to painting and sculpture to jewelry. Food will also be available at three food courts located at the event, with both international and local dishes on offer.
There will be live music across two stages and an area for children’s activities. In addition to this, the festival will host three tournaments: the NFS 4-Mile Race, Miss Apple Festival Pageant and Apple Dumpling Contest.
Local Johnson City band Southern Rebellion is headlining the Tucker Street Stage on Saturday starting 6:30 p.m. The band will perform a mix of country music and southern rock, with songs from their debut album “Southern Man” likely to be included in the set.
Local Christian artists and southern gospel groups will perform on the Love Street Stage Friday through Saturday.
The Blue Ridge Antique Pottery Show begins Thursday at Love Chapel Elementary School, running in conjunction with the festival through Saturday. Blue Ridge China and Southern Potteries Dinnerware will be on sale for collectors.
Pottery show admission will be $5 for the Thursday night preview show, with door prizes every 15 minutes. Admission is free on Friday and Saturday. A free shuttle service will offer transport from the pottery show to the downtown festival with free parking also available.
Johnson City resident Tristan Lane, who previously studied at ETSU, plans on attending the event for the first time.
“It just looked like something fun to do and I love fall,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to the apple foods [such as] apple pie, apple fritters, candy apples and apple cider. It really gets you in the mood for fall.”
