There's An Apple Festival In Michigan And It's Just As Wacky And Wonderful As It Sounds
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Jack Springgate
Author
One of Southwest Michigan’s biggest traditions is heading to the apple orchard in the fall. Whether that’s for apple cider, apple donuts, or just picking fresh fruit right off the tree, this is always a classic family activity. They take this to another level in Niles, where they host the Four Flags Area Apple Festival during the last weekend in October every year.
If you’ve never been to a cider mill for apple cider donuts, you need to add that to your bucket list. I had the ones at the Four Flags Apple Festival last year and they are some of my favorite. These are full of apple and spice flavors. They’re also made with some of the freshest apples around. I recommend trying the apple fritter.
You can’t leave here without a fresh bag of Michigan apples. The growers harvest several different varieties including Gala and Honeycrisp. While these go great in a pie or tart, eating them straight from the bag is really delicious too (and keeps the doctor away).
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Niles gives their favorite fruit a grand entrance to kick off the festival. This five-mile parade route starts downtown before working its way to the high school. They consider this one of the largest events of the whole festival.
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Anyone can enjoy themselves with classic carnival activities. They have all the classic rides and games you’ll find at your local county fair. You can buy wristbands in advance on the festival’s website and they’re good all day long.
There’s more than just apples with the number of food vendors that show up for this event. You’ll find plenty of your typical fair food vendors, but you’ll also find some great BBQ, Greek food, and Tex-Mex.
One of the best things you can do with apples is turn them into pie. The next best thing you can do with them is see who can eat one the fastest. While you might have your opinions about being a participant in an apple pie eating contest, there’s no denying it fits perfectly in with the vibe at the Four Flags Area Apple Festival.
You might be overwhelmed by the number of ways apples are used by these bakers and chefs. Apple-flavored cookies, apple butter, apple fritters, apple cider, and even apple sodas can be found under this main vendor tent.
This year’s festival goes from Sept. 28th- Oct.1st if you want to mark your calendars.
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Featured Addresses
Four Flags Area Apple Festival, 1740 Lake St, Niles, MI 49120, USA