West Virginia Press Association
BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — One of the largest and longest running fall festivals in West Virginia, the 49th annual Apple Butter Festival in historic Berkeley Springs, returns Saturday and Sunday, October 12 and 13, 2024, and is a family tradition for tens of thousands of folks every year. The Craft Beer and WV Wine Garden will be open to kick off the weekend October 11 from 5-9 pm, with craft breweries, local wineries, distilleries, and food trucks.
A nostalgic hometown parade with the theme Morgan County Traditions & Legends starts the festivities on Saturday morning at 9am followed by two days of family-friendly games and contests, music, country food, fine arts and local crafts. The undisputed star of the festival remains the spicy apple butter being stirred in giant copper kettles in the Square, and Greenwood Community Center is taking center stage in this crucial effort that creates lifelong memories for so many festivalgoers. They can’t wait for folks to take a stir at the kettles, experience the mouthwatering aroma, and carry off fresh-made apple butter. “Kids stirring apple butter in the kettles is the most photographed activity of the festival,” noted Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Krista Hoffman.
Grand marshals for the 2024 parade are the winners of the Berkeley Springs – 2nd Annual Morgan County Chamber of Commerce Community Awards. After 100 nominations, the winners in the 8 categories are: Apple Butter Volunteer of the Year: Terri Beard, Educator of the Year: Jamie Harris, Employee of the Year: Ben Fox from Berkeley Springs Antique Mall, Small Business of the Year: Hunter’s Hardware, Large Business of the Year: Gat Creek, Community Hero: KC Bohrer, Community Service Award: Luke Christie, and the top award, the coveted Morganite: Charles S. Trump IV. These 8 people/organizations were honored at a banquet in September, and will serve as the grand marshals.
The Craft Beer and WV Wine Garden continues to be a hit as festivalgoers sample from local breweries, wineries and distributors. While sampling, listen to the high energy bluegrass sound of All Grassed Up, performing both days.
The Festival Food Court always has the biggest crowds as people line up for a variety of tastes from standard festival treats like BBQ, funnel cakes, corn dogs and fried oreos, to specialty trucks serving wood fire pizza, crab cakes, Amish donuts, and Thai food. This year there will also be food vendors in the beer garden and on many of the other streets to give festivalgoers more options.
The musical line-up this year features new and returning favorites. Saturday’s music opens with high energy, hard-driving bluegrass favorites and heart-wrenching country ballads from Plate Scrapers. Saturday afternoon features festival headliners, award winning band, The Nighthawks, sponsored by US Silica. Renowned for their dynamic fusion of blues, R&B, honky-tonk country, doo-wop, gospel and rockabilly. The Nighthawks serve up a musical concoction that is nothing short of spectacular. Sunday morning begins with uplifting performances by Hymns for Him and Cacapon Ridge. They will be delivering heartfelt renditions of church hymns and Southern gospel music. In the afternoon, local favorites The Flashbacks will take the stage, inviting attendees to dance along to an infectious mix of oldies, classics, and vintage rock ‘n roll – guaranteed to keep toes tapping and spirits high! Additional entertainment throughout the weekend will feature the talented Berkeley Springs High School Marching Band, the spirited Berkeley Springs High School Dance Team, and the all-ages Black Cat Village Band.
Family-friendly games draw huge crowds to watch gentlemen strut their faces as their beards are judged for length, softness and style, amateurs calling hogs, rubber ducks racing down the springs that give the town its name, and pairs of contestants tossing raw eggs. Lines form to buy winning entries in the apple baking contest and raffle tickets for the 2024 Apple Butter Festival Quilt.
West Virginia wines are featured vendors, along with local produce, honey, home preserves and more apple butter. More than 200 new and returning favorite contemporary and traditional artists and craftspeople display and sell their work in the streets, local shops and at the Ice House showing why Berkeley Springs regularly places among the top art destinations in America.
The timing in early October guarantees that technicolor mountain scenery frames the event. With no admission fee and activities for all ages, this is the perfect day or weekend experience for everyone from grandma to the kids. Free parking at the outskirts of town with a shuttle is available, along with modestly priced parking lots downtown run by civic groups.
Located in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, Berkeley Springs is a 90-minute drive and half-tank round trip from Washington or Baltimore and an easy trip from points west and north. For more information call the Berkeley Springs-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce at 304-258-3738, visit berkeleyspringschamber.com/apple-butter-festival or on Facebook: apple butter festival wv