The 40th Annual Apple Festival was a tremendous success. Thousands of people descended upon the town to enjoy all of the festivities that spanned both weekends, including the first weekend’s car show and 5K race and the parade downtown on the second weekend.Scott Sharp and all of the Gilmer County Apple Festival Committee are extremely pleased with the turnout at this year’s festival. The second weekend saw about 26,000 attendees, compared to around 20,000 on the first weekend. Sharp contributes much of the success to the way that the weekend fell earlier in the month and the wonderful weather.

The parade was very well attended, the car show was a huge success, and the Downtown Apple Arts on the Square was enjoyed by all, and the traffic plan worked well so that there were no major traffic problems.

This year’s festival was the 40th annual. Although no records were broken, everything and everyone came together to make it a very special and successful festival.