Apple Butter Makin' Days!

This weekend is one of my favorite times of the year. It feels like fall is finally here when the apple butter is churning. I grew up in Mount Vernon, Missouri; home of Apple Butter Makin’ Days, or better known as ABMD if you’re a local.  And yes it is makin’…not making! This annual festival is always the second weekend in October, for that Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. This is such a big deal around Mount Vernon; we even get out of school on Friday for it. It’s a tradition that has been going for 45 years now, and will more than likely live on forever.

Now let me tell you about ABMD. The madness begins on Thursday evening, vendors start setting up their booths. At the booths there are many things for sale. At the top of my list is the amazing food. But there are also, crafts. The cool thing about Apple Butter Makin’ Days is everything MUST be hand/homemade, I think that’s pretty neat. All of the booths are for non-profit organizations, like the high school band or FFA. Each year the same organization has their same “famous” items for sale. My favorites include: The Southwest Missouri Cattleman’s Association rib eye steak sandwich meal…my mouth is watering now! The First Baptist Church has their one of a kind Taco Salads each year; and of course you can’t forget the renowned APPLE BUTTER! Yes, they actually make mass quantities of apple butter on the courthouse lawn throughout the entire weekend. It also seems like each year there is a “hot” craft item for sale. In past years it’s been, homemade door wreaths to a picture of individual pictures that spell something out…if that makes since! I can’t wait to see what this year’s “must have” item is. Also throughout the entire weekend the “stage” is hopping. There are various types of performers, singers, and contest for your entertainment. Saturday is the main day of the event. There is a parade every Saturday morning, which draws a huge crowd. It’s probably one of the best parades around.  And to top all of it off there is even an Apple Butter Makin’ Days Queen. Yes, that’s right…a Queen. There is a contest that reminds me of how they do the Miss America Pageant, but take it back about 100 years..haha!

The Lawrence County Record, which is the local newspaper, came out today (Wednesday). It had a special edition issue in it for ABMD. I read some interesting facts about Apple Butter Makin’ Days that I would like to share with you, so maybe you can grasp a better understanding of ABMD if you’ve never been.  This article was called ABMD by the Numbers. Now to sum it up: 1967- The first year of Mt. Vernon’s ABMD. 41- The number of people who have chaired the festival.  7- Seven people have chaired the festival more than once. 4- The number of traffic lights in Mt.Vernon (half of which are outside the city limits). 10- The number of feet in an ABMD booth. 380- The number of booths at ABMD each year. 1,600- Is the estimated number of gallons of apple butter that will be made at the 2011 festival. And lastly 52,000- The estimated number in attendance at last year’s Apple Butter Makin’ Days. When I read this today it made me blessed to be part of such an amazing community that holds an astounding event each year. I hope if you haven’t been to at least one ABMD that you attend at least one. Because in my opinion, once you go, you’ll always want to keep going back!