45 Years of Tradition and Growing: Apple Harvest Unveils New Looks in 2013

Downtown Southington isn’t the place you’d recognize year-round. The normally calm town green is bustling with activity, sounds of music fill the streets and the scent of fried dough and apple fritters fills the air.

It’s the return of the Apple Harvest Festival, the biggest event of the year, and with a line-up that includes the Connecticut Icon competition, parades,

“It’s truly a community-wide event and it seems every year, even more people get involved,” said Christopher Palmieri, Southington Town Councilman and member of the Apple Harvest Festival committee. “It takes a year worth of planning and every aspect of the festival is run by volunteers. It really is an incredible event.

Situated around the beautiful Southington Town Green, the Apple Harvest Festival is a family-oriented event that attracts an estimated 100,000 visitors annually, festival coordinator Jim Champagne said. The event features a wide variety of live music and entertainment, food, contests, crafts, children's activities, carnival rides and more.

Also highlighted each year is the parade, an arts and crafts show, and a spectacular evening fireworks display.

Although the 2013 event will celebrate nearly half a century of festival celebration, the history behind the festival dates back to the 1700s and the town’s history as a thriving agricultural and industrial community.

“The history of Southington continued as this farmland grew into a thriving community. Before long, taverns, lodges and stores were being constructed. By 1767, there were already mills, foundries and factories in place. In fact, there was already work going on in Southington before the Industrial Revolution began,” according to a report on Southington.com.

The festival itself has run continuously since 1969, celebrating this history and the town’s roots.

When it first began, Palmieri said the event was little more than a community gathering. Since that time, however, it has become a community-wide celebration transforming downtown.

Notably missing from this year’s festival, however, is the original bed races. The races lacked participants in recent years due to changes that included a growing parade, the YMCA Road Race, fireworks and the Connecticut Icon competition.

“The festival is constantly growing and changing,” he said. “We will continue to adjust with it. This festival shows the heart of the community and it’s something to be proud of.”

For a complete look at the 2013 schedule and each event, food vendor and more, be sure to check out the Apple Harvest Festival guide by clicking the link.

Make sure to like Southington Patch on Facebook or follow on Twitter for breaking news, daily updates and more!