The Georgia Apple Festival is finally here!Held every year during the month of October, the Georgia Apple Festival celebrates one of Georgia’s most beloved crops: the great tasting, easy peeling, always satisfying, delicious Georgia apple!

With over seven well known apple orchards in the area, Ellijay is known as apple country, and judging from last weekend’s first festival numbers, most people agree.

According to the Manager of the Georgia Apple Festival Scott Sharp, an estimated 25,000 people attended the first weekend of the festival scheduled Saturday, October 13th and Sunday, October 14th.

“The first Saturday was extremely heavy with traffic and long wait lines to get in and out for the shuttle busses, but that is to be expected when you have a crowd the size or ours!”

Sharp said.

Sharp went on to say that the Sunday flow of traffic at the Apple Festival went much smoother than Saturday, crediting the county’s local law enforcement with traffic control.

The Georgia Apple Festival is a county effort that doesn’t just start with apple growers. The first weekend of the Apple Festival featured scores of activities, including a 5k mile race, an “Apple Arts” festival located at downtown Ellijay and, of course, the main festival located at the Ellijay Lions Club Fairgrounds.

Swarmed in the first weekend, the main event of the Apple Festival offered not just over 300 vendors of crafts and food, but also organized events, such as an apple pie eating contest and a local car show.

Winning this year’s 2012 Georgia Apple Festival famous Apple Pie Recipe Contest, coordinated by the UGA Cooperative Extension Office of Gilmer County, was Katherine Mendez, a resident of Cumming, Ga. Mendez, who made an Autumn Apple Pie for the contest this year, when asked what her secret was, smiling said,

“Practice!”

Another contestant Andrea Roper told FYN that she had traveled 120 miles just to be part of the famous contest. A resident of Royston, Ga, known for its Ty Cobb Museum, Roper earned second in the event with her pie of choice, a Grated Apple Pie.

After the apple pie contest and taking time to shop the festival grounds, festival goers were also treated to a local car show at the county’s civic center.

This year’s “Overall Winner” of the 24th Annual Apple Classic Car Show was Ellijay resident Randy Huntsman. Huntsman, who won the contest with his 1967 Shelby GT 350, told FYN he is only the second owner of the car. Huntsman has been the owner since 1969, although a full restoration had been done in 2008. He also commented on what is known as a 289 high power “hipo” engine, but Huntsman explained modified versions of the engine are sometimes rated at having over 306 measurements of horsepower.

Also highlighted at the car show was the Gilmer High School Automotive program. During the show, GHS Automotive teacher Ken Martin and members of his Auto Tech class were recognized and received a plaque for their help and participation in the show. The GHS Auto Tech department will receive a scholarship from proceeds from the show.

The second weekend of the Apple Festival will be this weekend, Saturday, October 20th and Sunday, October 21st, with the Georgia Apple Festival parade scheduled for 10:00 a.m. in downtown Ellijay on Saturday, October 20th.

For more pictures from the 41st Annual Georgia Apple Festival, please view the slideshow below: