Don’t miss the Nappanee Apple Festival this weekend!

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Contests, Family Fun, Festival, Food, Fun, Music, Nappanee, Nappanee Apple Festival, Nappanee Chamber of Commerce, Rides

The Nappanee Apple Festival is proud of their family-friendly atmosphere and Midwestern hospitality that attracted over 85,000 people in 2012.

The festival has begun! Come to Nappanee and check out all the crafts, commercial exhibits and enjoy some great food! Today, Mike Hemmelgarn, comedy juggler and ventriloquist is on the Martin’s Entertainment Stage from 11:30-12:30 p.m. and Billy Dee (variety music) is on the CenturyLink Stage from 11:30-12:30 p.m. Senior Bingo starts at 1:00 p.m. in the Martin’s Super Market stage and Silly Safaris has a live animal show on the CenturyLink stage from 1:00-2:30 p.m.

Joe Knapp, from Goshen, IN on a downtown Nappanee sidewalk is about to play “Stairway to Heaven” at my husband’s request. There is so much going on in Nappanee today! Join in on the fun!

The Nappanee Apple Festival also features Indiana’s largest 7 foot baked apple pie. We serve approximately 750 slices of pie and many people travel across the United States to savor their annual piece of this pie. Other activities include a variety of entertainment on two stages, 100 craft vendors, 60 commercial vendors, carnival rides, parade with signature military aircraft fly-over, scholarship queen pageant, corn hole tournament, apple baking contest, garden tractor pull, kids and adult pedal pull contests, wings and wheels show at airport, apple peeling contest, 5K road run and half-marathon and a pie-eating contest.

In the spirit of the celebration, you will find crates of fresh apples dotting the downtown sidewalks and more than 25 food vendors including many local non-profit organizations serving all your favorites. There will be plenty of your favorite fresh apple products like apple pie, apple fritters, apple dumplings, apple turnovers, apple fry pies, apple bread, applesauce, apple cider and apple butter to enjoy during the festival or to take home to enjoy later.

The Nappanee Chamber of Commerce invites you to experience a truly unique hometown festival. After the fun and entertainment, you’ll be sure to mark your calendar to return for next year’s festival!

Click HERE for a schedule of events.

Friday night at New Paris’ 2nd Friday Festival

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2nd Friday, Bingo, Boy Scouts, Community, Corn Hole Contest, Family Fun, Fellowship, Fun, Good Times, Ice Cream, Music, New Paris, New Paris Firefighters, Round Ball Racing, Sunnyside Park Food Booth, Water Ball Contest

What better way to spend a last summer weekend than at the New Paris’ last 2nd Friday Festival of 2013.

There was something for everyone.

New Paris is the ONLY place in Indiana to hold Round Boat races.

WINNERS OF New Paris Round Boat Race…

$1st Place – $100 prize:

Parker and Nathan Hart took 1st place in the New Paris Round Boat Race.

Round Boat Race 2nd Place Winners

The 2nd place winners, Nick Harris and Andy Dixon, were in great spirits. They had come close to taking the first place prize.

Bingo, fellowship with friends, and great food!

New Paris friends get together for Bingo and fellowship. It takes time to make the best food choice because EVERYTHING at the Sunnyside Park ‘Food Booth’ is SO GOOD.

The Water Ball Contest, compliments of the New Paris Fire Department, is a huge hit!

The Water Ball Contest goes on full blast as Nathan and Parker Hart take on their fellow New Paris Boy Scouts.

Who has the OLDEST TREE IN NEW PARIS?

A white oak tree very much like the one that is New Paris’ oldest tree.

Kirby Meyers has the OLDEST TREE in New Paris. His white oak tree, located in Matthew’s woods, is estimated to be 309 years old. In 1704 when the Americas were still in early stages of settlement, Meyers’ tree was just a seedling. White oak trees can grow to a massive size — up to 150 feet with an 80-foot spread. 800-year-old white oak trees have been known to exist.

Congratulations Kirby! You had a LOT of competition, but we are proud to have such a distinguished tree, which has lived through so MUCH HISTORY as part of our community.

51st Annual Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival

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Amish Acres Arts and Crafts Festival, Amish Exhibits, Art, Crafts, Educational Exhibits, Elkhart County, Family Fun, Indiana, Local Craftsmen, Nappanee

Nappanee, IN – Amish Acres Historic Farm & Heritage Resort will host the 51st annual Arts & Crafts Festival August 1 through August 4, 2013. For the fifth time, Amish Acres has been selected by the American Bus Association (ABA)as a TOP 100 event in North America solidifying the festival’s standing in the top echelon of America’s festivals dedicated to the creative arts. In addition, the Arts and Crafts Festival was recognized for the first time as a top ten event in the state of Indiana by AmericaTheBeautiful.com and Top Events USA.

The event’s 2014 “Proud as a Peacock’s Plumage: The Colorful World of Art” theme is derived from the new “It’s A-Peeling” apple art, an Interactive outdoor art exhibit placing four foot high fiberglass apples designed and painted by local artists around Nappanee and funded through individual and corporate sponsorships. Amish Acres apple features a peacock in full plumage promoting Amish Acres historic Kuhn’s Apple Cider Mill, ranked one of the Top 10 Cider Mills in America.

Over 300 artists and crafter’s from 35 States, surround Amish Acres pond to ply their trade and sell their wares. The event brings to this northern Indiana historic farm a marketplace filled with the creations of artists and artisans from every corner of the country. Nearly 60,000 visitors, many representing third generations, descend on the farm annually for the celebration that includes live strolling musicians and entertainment on four stages throughout the day, festive food from apple pie to zucchini bread, and $5,000 in cash prizes awarded by professional judges from 900 entries in the competition tent.

The fourth generation of the founding family is now involved in the festival’s

The cider mill stood in two locations before being moved to the Amish Acre location in the early 1900s. It was used each fall to press cider from the orchands of neighboring Amish farmers. The press has a listed capacity of 3,000 gallons per day. It was powered by a steam engine. The stone grist mill was added by Amish Acres.

planning and production. Richard Pletcher, founder of the festival and Amish Acres, remains CEO and Jennifer Pletcher Wysong is the festival director. The event started as a clothes line show in downtown Nappanee during sidewalk days in 1962. Amish Acres was created and grew out of the demand from the early festival’s visitors for Amish related experiences and products.

Over $250,000 in cash prizes have been awarded over the last five decades. The Best of Show collection is on permanent display in the new Arts & Crafts Best of Show Museum located in the Barn Loft Wine Room of Amish Acres Restaurant.

Festival hours & Admission Prices are:

• Thursday-Saturday (August 1-3) 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday (August 4) from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Admission price is $7.00 for adults, $6.00 for seniors (60 & older), active military, and students 12 – 17 and free for children under age 12.
• Round Barn Theater Curtain Times 7:30pm
• Parking is free with several parking areas and six entrances for visitors’ convenience.

Amish Acres is located on U.S. Highway 6, one mile west of downtown Nappanee.  Pre-event tickets and four-day passes can be purchased online. More information on Amish Acres, the Arts and Crafts Festival, and The Round Barn Theatre can be obtained online at AmishAcres.com