Apple Harvest Festival THE FALL-FAVORITE FESTIVAL RETURNS AT FULL CAPACITY THIS YEAR AFTER A LIMITED VERSION IN 2020 B y Hannah Fit z patr ick
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ith fall in its prime time, many people look forward to seeing the changing leaves or finally getting to wear a knit sweater, but if you know Ithaca, you know that the classic fall experience involves all things applerelated — caramel apples, apple cider and, of course, apple cider donuts. For the first time since the fall of 2019, Downtown Ithaca’s Apple Harvest Festival is back in full swing, with lots of fun activities for the whole family and, naturally, plenty of apples to go around. The weekend-long event, which will take place on Friday, Oct. 1 through Sunday, Oct. 3, from 12 to 6 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, will feature a variety of vendors, complete with local produce, homemade baked goods, homemade crafts created by local and regional businesses, and an assortment of tasty apple treats to celebrate the fall season. Though there are safety precautions put in place to protect vendors and participants alike, this year’s festival is the first time that it will be held in full capacity since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last fall, to accommodate for the effects of the pandemic, a socially distanced “Apple Festive” took the place of the traditional festival. The adapted celebration, which took place over the course of a week, featured vendors and local restaurants in a limited capacity, during which no more than six vendors were allowed to set up shop in the Commons in order to keep things small and distanced. In addition, only 50 people were allowed to attend at a time. Masks were also mandatory for vendors and attendees and hand sanitizer was made available throughout the area. Darlene Wilber, the communications and grant development director for the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, said that this year’s festival will look similar to previous years, but will still have additional measures in place to ensure the safety of all participants. “To allow for social distancing during the event, the vendors will be spaced out along the Commons, North Cayuga and West State streets,” Wilber said. “Mask wearing is encouraged while guests are indoors and visiting the businesses. Unvaccinated guests are responsible to wear a mask.” Scott Rougeu, the special events director for the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, said in a press release that he is excited to see this year’s festival return to a more traditional setting. “We look forward to seeing many guests sampling delicious fall-inspired foods and beverages, shopping at the craft show and at local businesses, and enjoying the live entertainment,” Rouge said. “Apple Harvest is an event people won’t want to miss.”
For this year’s festival, the main concern has revolved around safety, especially for the anticipated thousands of people that are planning to attend. Allison Graffin, the marketing director for the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, said that a major part of the planning and permitting process for the event has involved communicating with the Tompkins County Health Department to ensure the safety of vendors and attendees while still keeping the festival’s fun atmosphere alive. “A lot of the mandates that existed in the pandemic have changed so much, so we always have to be quick on our feet to prepare for what’s coming next,” Graffin said. “I think there were certainly challenges to overcome in terms of operating the event safely. We’ve brought in our own security staff in addition to the city police staff to accommodate for the number of people we anticipate to come to the festival, and we had to cut a lot of our indoor events due to social distancing and masking concerns. Without having the ability to adapt to the ever-changing environment of this pandemic, an event of this size simply couldn’t happen.” Though the festival is returning to its traditional setting, there are some changes that attendees will notice, specifically regarding parking. While in previous years, the Green Street parking garage was available to the public, it will be closed off for this year’s festival. Despite this, continued on page 14
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