Hay Creek Apple Festival and Flea Market
HAY CREEK APPLE FESTIVAL AND FLEA MARKET
Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 – 7 am to 5 pm
Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024 - 7 am to 3 pm
Everything About Apples All Day Long!
Starting with our Apple Pancake Breakfast from 7AM to 11AM each day!
It’s the peak of apple harvesting time. During this beautiful fall season, the Hay Creek Apple Festival offers a wonderful day with some great family fun. All ages will enjoy the brisk fall air and savor the delicious array of homemade Hay Creek apple specialties. The Festival’s home is Historic Joanna Furnace off of Route 10. Parking is on site with a parking donation. Every imaginable apple food is available throughout the day. . . from fresh cider to fritters, pies crisp and dumplings and so much more. And, in 2024 our all-you-can-eat apple pancake breakfast will once again be served in the Joanna Furnace Mule Stable from 7 am to 10 am. This breakfast also includes a hearty piece of country sausage! The apple cider press will be featured with continuous demonstrations and fresh apple cider for your purchase.
Admission:
FREE / Parking Donation Requested
Festival Time:
Saturday, October 12th, 7 am – 5 pm
Sunday, October 13th, 7 am – 3 pm
In the event of inclement weather the event hours may be altered and/or specific days could be cancelled.
Parking & Shuttle:
Event parking is located on the Hay Creek Valley Historical Association grounds. We are located three miles north of Morgantown, PA on Route 10 at Historic Joanna Furnace. Access Furnace Road and let our volunteer parking crew help you park. Additional parking is also available along Furnace Road.
Event Vendor Participant 2024 Registration Form
Mabel’s Kettle Soup is also a special treat at our apple festival!
Her Chicken Corn Noodle, Beef Vegetable and Ham & Bean Soup is cooked to perfection over the open fire. Additional festive foods and beverages will be served. Homemade PA Dutch Chicken Pot Pie will also be available to purchase by the bowl or by the quart to take home. Hot Dogs, hamburgers and pulled pork sandwiches will also be served.
Enter our 2024 Apple Festival Baking Contest
Hay Creek Apple Festival offers Baking Contest
Granny Smith, Macintosh, Jonathan, Winesap – these are just a few of the many delicious baking apples available each fall in Berks County. Traditionally grandma would use these well-known varieties to bake her heavenly pies and dumplings, while today there are many new juicy apple varieties that add to our favorite apple recipes.
The Hay Creek Apple Festival invites you to “pick” your own variety of apple and enter your famed creation into our annual apple dessert contest.
The contest has five (5) Apple Categories: Breads/Cakes, Cookies, Pies, Miscellaneous, and a Youth category for our bakers under 18.
To participate in the apple dessert contest, simply bring your homemade entry to the Hay Creek Apple Festival between 8 am and 9 am on Saturday, October 12th along with a copy of the complete recipe.
Entries will be judged at 10 am and the winners will be announced during the day. All baked items will be sold at the festival with the proceeds going toward the Joanna Furnace restoration efforts.
For more information about the contest, contact Ruth at 484-437-2801.
Apple Festival Prizes
First Place winners in each apple category will receive $30.00. A non-cash prize will be awarded to our youth category winner.
Numerous family activities round out the festival.
These family events include scarecrow building, pumpkin painting, early American games, hay and pony rides. The children will especially love a ride on the Apple Barrel Express.
Build a Friend at the Festival or Purchase a Kit to Take Home
Volunteers have been busy this year sewing and patching shirts and pants for our scarecrow-making booth! Here, visitors can create their very own scarecrow or purchase a ‘scarecrow kit’ to build their friend at home. Each scarecrow kit includes a wooden “t” frame, pants, shirt, head, string, and a small amount of straw. Homebuilders can stuff their scarecrow with newspaper or grocery store bags.
Shop in our Flea and Craft Market
Visitors can also shop at the flea market area that offers over 100 vendors with crafts, flowers, fall items and an array of unexpected items for anyone’s interest. For more information about participating as a flea market vendor, please call Kathleen at 610.914.8152. Vendor set-up starts at 12 noon on Friday, October 11th. Click below to download our registration form:
Tour the Historic Joanna Furnace Buildings
Six historic Joanna Furnace buildings will be open with garbed interpreters telling the historical story of the 19th-century ironworks and village. The Blacksmith Shop complete with the working blacksmith; The Casting House with molders and workers demonstrating the casting process; The Office/Store with the Storekeeper who will be selling traditional products such as the Joanna Furnace metal castings, pottery, brooms, etc.; and the Charcoal Barn Museum with interpreters showing the process of charcoal making, actual Joanna Furnace stoves and products and recovered archaeological artifacts. Visitors can also watch a 22-minute Joanna Furnace history video in the Charcoal Barn. In addition, the Joanna Furnace Wheelwright Shop will be open with interpretation, and visitors can see a brand new exhibit in the Blowing Engine House. This exhibit focuses on the Joanna Furnace hot-blast system, which was installed in 1888, where a blast of air was sent into the furnace utilizing a 15’ Weimer blowing engine.
Event Information
General Information
Credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, Discover, & American Express) are accepted at the Festival Admission Gate and at all Ticket Booths.
The Historic Joanna Furnace grounds are hilly and have gravel pathways. For your safety please stay on the pathways and respect our 200 year old structures. Comfortable walking shoes highly encouraged to navigate our site. At no times should you remove any stones or artifacts from the property…. Please respect our historic site, clean up after yourself and leave only your footprints.
First Aid Station is available. Located near the Town Square Stage.
Please note:
We are a family friendly event and ask visitors to refrain from profane language and any inappropriate behavior.
Pets are not permitted at our festival.