This year has taken quite a toll on annual festivals in North Carolina. We’ve missed them and hope things get back to normal very soon. However, one festival, the annual Apple Harvest Festival in Waynesville (taking place this Saturday, October 17th) is still on the calendar – albeit with a slightly modified agenda. If you’ve been missing festivals as much as we have, hit the road this weekend to Waynesville to a festival that’s implemented socially-distant measures to help keep visitors, vendors, and the community safe.
Consistently named one of the 10 Best Fall Festivals In The Country, the annual Apple Harvest Festival in the gorgeous mountain town of Waynesville, North Carolina, is a one-day event that's worth the journey from anywhere in the state.
But this year's event will look different. So much so, that Waynesville decided to call this year's event Apple Harvest DAZE (instead of Apple Harvest Festival) because the event will be on a much smaller scale.
One of them includes the use of stanchions down the middle of the street, creating one-way foot traffic paths for visitors to navigate through the event. Additionally, face covers are mandated for all vendors and workers, and visitors will be encouraged to wear them as well. Moreover, vendors will be required to sanitize their booths regularly to comply with the safety protocol. For a complete list of safety guidelines, you can see this link.
While many of the festival's key elements will be gone for this year, you can rest assured that you'll find fresh apple pie, apple tarts, turnovers, candy apples, and anything else tasty and made with apples at the event.
Shop from local and regional artists to purchase something truly unique while also supporting local arts and crafts people. This segment of the art community, especially, has been hit very hard in 2020 since festivals have been cancelled due to the pandemic.
