Darlington Apple Festival

The first Saturday each October, the quaint little sleepy town of Darlington, MD hosts it's annual Apple Festival. Held on the main downtown thoroughfare, Shuresville Road, the town comes alive with crafts, food vendors and civic organizations.



The show offers afternoon before set up to make it easier on it's exhibitors. Most crafts people that have been doing shows for years really appreciate that feature. This years set up had a few complications...Mother Nature decided to bestow upon Maryland 9-11 inches of rain that Thursday, which made it a little soggy for those setting up on the grassy areas and made parking out of the question in other areas.


My space this year was located on the school driveway so we didn't have to worry about the soggys. We got all of our display stuff and some of our product up on Friday evening. We planned on returning early in the morning to finish the rest.


Ian, Sean and I headed back to Darlington in the early morning hours. We were set up in no time flat and making sales. The weather turned out to be absolutely wonderful and sales were brisk. If you are within an hours drive time from Darlington and are looking for something to do, it's certainly worth the drive.

There are orchard fresh apples, apple dumpling, apple cider, an apple pie baking contest, apple fritters, along with plenty of entertainment. There are even pony rides to keep the kids entertained.

It was nice catching up with craft friends. Talking about the evolution of our industry and where we think shows are headed. Things certainly have changed since I started doing shows 20+ years ago.

Darlington Apple Festival

Last weekend I was able to participate in a nice little festival held in the quaint town of Darlington, Maryland. Darlington is just a little speck on the map but come the 1st Saturday in October, the little sleepy town of 700, turns into a mob scene of approx 70,000 people...yep, you read that right....70,000!

This is the first time we have ever participated in this show, but it has been around over 27 years. There is anything and everything to do with apples, including a apple pie baking contest, hay rides, pony rides and musical entertainment. An way imaginable to cook, bake or serve an apple, you could find it at Darlington. There were apple pies, apple cakes, apples with carmel and whipped topping which I can say is yummo but very, very sweet, so it's best to be shared. There was apple butter, apple dumplings, candy and caramel apples on a stick and just plain ole bushels of apples to take home.



Along with the apple fare and entertainment, there were around 200 craftsman in the town located in various parking lots, the school grounds and along the Shuresville Rd which is the main street.

The one nice feature about this show, was the food. The food vendors had to be sponsored by a non-profit group which means that the money raised there at the show, goes right back into the community. It was a very nice and well thought out plan and the food for the most part was very reasonably priced.

The weather held out and it turned out to be a beautiful day although the forecast was for scattered showers. If you are ever in the area in October be sure to make a stop to eat and shop the Darlington Apple Festival...hope to see you all there next year...and if you do come be sure to stop by and say hi!