Georgia Apple Festival – A Vacation Like Never Before

What do you think about apples? I am sure you love them! Apple is such a fruit that is beautiful to look at as well as delicious. Plus it offers tremendous health benefits. Such a wonder fruit deserves a great honor and appreciation. People of Ellijay in North Georgia have realized this and started the uniquely beautiful “Georgia Apple Festival” to celebrate apple harvest!

What is Georgia Apple Festival?

Georgia Apple Festival is celebrated in the honor of apples and during the festival hundreds of vendors present their exquisite foods, arts, crafts and more. All the items presented are handmade and hand-crafted. More than 300 hand-picked vendors will attend the festival this year. Plus there would be several on-site demonstrations of how crafts are made. There would also be face painting, music, quilts and much more. 2017 Georgia Apple Festival promises new crafts and also those which became popular during the past festivals.

Apart from vendors’ arts and crafts, two more attractions are presented in the festival – a parade and an antique car show.

Plus there would be many events in the festival, like Apple Arts, Apple Cake Recipe Contest, Apple Festival 5K Road Race, Apple Pie Recipe Contest and Ellijay Apple Queen Pageant.

Visitors from all over attend this wonderful festival. You too can consider booking a cozy, elegant Apple Festival cabin and enjoy the event.

When and Where?

The 46th Georgia Apple Festival will be celebrated on two weekends in October this year – 14th and 15th October and 21st and 22nd October. The parade will be held on 21st October starting at 10 am in the historic downtown Ellijay, while the antique car show will be held on 14th October at the Civic Center.

About Ellijay Apples

Ellijay apples are absolutely the best. Ellijay is perched in the grand Appalachian Mountains in the heart of Georgia’s apple country. The tastiest, tree-ripened mountain apples are available here from late August to December amidst some of the most breathtaking scenery of the state. You can buy directly from the growers and get assured of better taste, freshness and reasonable price.

Difference between Ellijay Apples and Grocery Store Apples Bought Elsewhere

You can easily differentiate between the apples you buy regularly from grocery store and the Ellijay apples. When you start taking a bite of an Ellijay apple, you have to hold it with a napkin – it’s so juicy! Grocery store apples you have bought so far are fresh out of cold storage and may be up to a year old and hardly contain any juice.

Ellijay apples are so tasty because cool mountain nights produce the best juice and crispiness in them.

While passing by the roadside stands of apples, if you step inside them you will be welcomed by a strong jolt of sweet and tart aroma from hundreds of ripe apples that are hand-picked from orchards. You will get the rare and valued experience of standing amidst apples and apples everywhere, right at their birthplace!

Here you will get all the varieties including Red and Golden Delicious which you are familiar with, and also some which you won’t find in the city’s chain grocery stores, such as Mutsu, Winesap and Gala.

And in addition to apples, you will get even more wonderful apple products here like homemade apple butter, old-fashioned cider pressed from apples and fried apple pies!

Apart from taste, apples also has unmatched nutritional value in the form of high dietary fiber, and low sodium and no cholesterol.

And of course, you get a chance to roam through the heavenly beauty of Appalachian Mountains which bathe in autumn colors coinciding with the apple season.

Extras

While enjoying the Apple Festival, you can also do a lot of other things in Georgia. Here are some of them.

Lake Blue Ridge Marina

25 miles from Ellijay, Lake Blue Ridge Marina is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and can give you an unforgettable vacation with your favorite watercraft for exploring 100 miles of shoreline, 50 public campsites, fishing for walleye, white bass and small mouth bass and a thick forest. Book a room in a hotel in Blue Ridge well in advance and experience all the luxury and fun.

Amicalola Falls

30 miles from Ellijay, Amicalola Falls State Park is full of spectacular scenery and hiking trails. Amicalola Falls are located 729 feet and is the tallest cascading waterfall in the Southeast. You can enjoy viewing the fall from various levels, from an accessible pathway to a difficult trail with staircases. There is a lodge on the mountain top as well as rustic accommodations in the form of a campground and cottages.

Blairsville

Around 40 miles from Ellijay, Blairsville is a mountain town bestowed with unmatched natural beauty. You can enjoy the Sorghum Festival here simultaneously with the Apple Festival, which too is held in October in its 2nd and 3rd weekends to celebrate sorghum harvest.

Dahlonega Gold Museum

45 miles from Ellijay, Dahlonega Gold Museum is full of enthralling tales and tours. Take a one-hour leisurely walking tour to know about haunted Dahlonega and the rich gold history of the town. Listening to the tales and stories of the gold mining at night in the museum is an enchanting experience. Take a look at the rare coins at the time of the California gold rush, a nugget weighing over five ounces, a huge hydraulic cannon and nozzle used for blasting soil at mountainsides, film and gift shop.

Trails

Plus, Ellijay is full of enchanting hiking trails which you can enjoy if you are fond of adventures. These trails include Amicalola Falls Trail, Amicalola Falls West Ridge, Appalachian Trail Springer Mountain to Woody Gap, Bear Creek Trail, Benton MacKaye Trail, Big Rock Nature Trail, Fort Mountain Loop, Oak Ridge Nature Trail, Long Creek Falls, Tumbling Waters Trail and many others.

You can make the Apple Festival cabin your base and visit all these places just while enjoying the Apple Festival.

So, what are you waiting for? Go ahead and book your tickets and accommodation at Ellijay now itself, so that you can take full pleasure in the exquisite Apple Festival of Ellijay, North Georgia!