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Apples plus Hilton equal Apple Fest
Every fall for the past 24 years, the Hilton community has come together to celebrate the arrival of fall with a festival called Apple Fest. This year's festival will be October 2 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and October 3 from 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Located on Hilton Community Center grounds on Route 18 in the village of Hilton, this annual event attracts between 30-60,000 people. The success of this event can be attributed to the hard work of 14 board members, over 35 committee members and over 400 volunteers. The Apple Fest Committee meets year round, from January through November to plan this popular event. "Without the dedication of all the volunteers, there would not be an Apple Fest in Hilton," said Faye Cole, vice chairperson of the 2004 Hilton Apple Fest. This year's Apple Fest will include the ever-popular favorites like the apple pie contest, a photo contest and an auto show. Over 200 arts and crafts vendors will display their wares. Crafters come from all throughout the United States to show off their custom-made designs. New to the fest this year will be a children's activities and entertainment area called Kid's Korner. Children's activities have always been included as part of the festival but this year all of the children's activities will be located together in one area of the festival. "We wanted families to know they can come to the Kid's Korner anytime during the festival and have fun with the special kid's activities and enjoy the kid's entertainment," said Terry Quetschenbach, chairperson of the Apple Fest Kid's Korner. An auto show is also included as part of the Apple Fest festivities. This year's auto show will be on Saturday, October 2 and will be held at Parma Town Park, located at 1300 Hilton Parma Corners Road, approximately two miles south of the Apple Fest location in the village of Hilton. Registration for the auto show begins at 8 a.m. and the sow begins at 10 a.m. Car buffs from as far away as Canada attend this annual event. Participants judge the auto show. An awards ceremony begins promptly at 4 p.m. All of the Apple Fest food booths are run by non-profit community organizations. The Hilton Lions and High School Student Council are just a few examples of these organizations. Each booth's proceeds support each organization's activities and good works throughout the year. This year, parking at the Apple Fest will be limited due to the construction at West Avenue, Village Elementary and Merton Williams Schools. Free parking at and bus shuttling from Hilton High School or Hilton Firemen's Field (weather permitting) is available and is highly recommended. Crafts make Apple Fest special The Apple Fest Committee takes pride in showcasing unique and one-of-a-kind artwork. "We make sure that all of our artists are selling custom-made products," said Faye Cole, Apple Fest vice chairperson. This pride landed the Hilton Apple Fest top ranking by a national publication for artists. In 2003, the Apple Fest was ranked 83rd by the "Sunshine Artist Magazine." This magazine rates craft shows across the United States. A variety of arts and crafts will be sold at this year's fest including items in categories such as painting and drawing, jewelry, clothing, wood, floral, glass, mixed and special media, photography, wood textiles, pottery and ceramics. A contest for crafters will be held during the Apple Fest. Prizes for best in category and best in show will be presented. The winner of the best in show in all categories will win a free booth in the 2005 Apple Fest. "We hope to continue to present a great family festival and invite everyone to come to the 2004 Hilton Apple Fest," said Cole. Visit the new Apple Fest children's area this year Some of these special activities include face painting by members from Hilton Baptist Church and children can also make beaded necklaces and bracelets with participants from the Parma Christian Fellowship. Throughout the weekend, Grease Paint Alley Clowns will make balloon creations and the Youth Group from Hilton United Methodist Church will have cookies for sale which children can decorate. Cartoon characters will be roaming the area to play with children. The Kid's Korner will be located on the festival grounds at the Hilton Community Center next to the playground. Car buffs come together at Hilton Apple Fest The show consists of 29 car, truck and motorcycle classes. The classes include cars such as antique, stock, muscle, modified compact, sports, race, street rod and machines. Trucks have different classes and include stock, modified and mini. Domestic and foreign motorcycles also are included in the auto show. Specific types of cars such as Corvettes, Mustangs and Chevys have their own individual class. Over 90 awards will be presented at this show. First, second and third place apple plaques will be awarded for each class. Special awards will be given for most popular street rod, best graphics, long distance, town supervisor's choice and club participation. Goody bags and dash plaques will be presented to the first 500 entries. This show is considered an important part of the Hilton Apple Fest activities because the show attracts a large number of entries and also draws large crowds. Each year, the number of auto show entries grows, last year over 500 autos were showcased. According to Mike Ahl, Apple Fest Auto Show chairperson, car buffs from throughout Upstate New York and Canada come together at this annual car fest. "The wives of the car buffs go to the Apple Fest while their husbands are at the show," said Ahl. He added, "The car show brings in more people which boosts the attendance for the festival." The Hilton Apple Fest Auto Show will be held at the Parma Town Park, located at 1300 Hilton Parma Corners Road, approximately two miles south of the Apple Fest site in Hilton village. Calling all shutterbugs and apple pie makers This year's photo contest theme is "Anything Goes." Photographers are invited to submit their favorite photos they have taken while traveling around New York state. The photo contest includes four divisions: best of show, adult, youth and children's. Prizes will be awarded in each division, as well as four sponsor awards. A panel of judges will determine the winners based on subject matter, pictorial compositions, originality and appeal. The awards will be presented on Saturday, October 2 at 1:30 p.m. at the gazebo. The Apple Fest committee is searching for the best apple pie in New York state. This apple pie contest is open to any New York state resident except Apple Fest board members and their families. Pie makers must submit a completed application and entry fee of $2 to Apple Pie Contest, Hilton Apple Fest, P.O. Box 1, Hilton, New York 14468 by Wednesday, September 29. Homemade apple pies should be delivered to the Ingham Room at the Hilton Community Center between 8 and 9:15 a.m. on Saturday, October 2. Pies must be made of New York state grown apples and will be judged according to appearance, taste and texture. The Apple Pie Contest adult division will be judged by Paul Marvin, a long time Hilton resident, Dave Miller, a math teacher at Merton Williams schools, Carol Ritter, a retired columnist from the Rochester daily newspaper, and Karen Joba from M& T Bank in Hilton. The prizes for the adult division are $100 for first place, $50 for second place and $25 for third place. Rachel Quetschenbach, a student at Merton Williams school and Jared Kaminski, a student at Quest Elementary school will judge the youth division of the Apple Pie Contest. Prizes for the youth division are $25 for first place and $10 for second. For information about the Apple Fest Pie Contest or the Photo Contest, visit the Apple Fest Website at www.hiltonapplefest.org. |