SUNNYSIDE'S 11th ANNUAL APPLE BUTTER FESTIVAL
From September 2015 Tips & Tales Shared by Pat Harkins
This year’s theme is “One Day – Three Kettles”. Yes, we will have three kettles going this year and Alex Banks will be wearing himself out hopping from one to the other. Sign up to take a turn with the ladle and stir the pot on Thursday, September 17th from early morning to whenever it is done. Remember, you won’t be stirring for an entire hour and refreshments are cheerfully supplied throughout the day!

Number Two -- start baking for the Bake Shop. The Bake Shop is always one of the most popular shops at the Festival and they need everyone’s favorite baked goods to help stock their shelves for the festival. Baked goods can only be delivered to the Corson Lobby or to either reception desk on Friday, September 25th between the hours of 9:00 am and 12:00 noon for set up and pricing. Questions? Call Pat Oxley or Nellie Koon.

Reminder: There will be shuttle service the day of the festival running from the Highlands on the half hour and pick-ups can be scheduled throughout the Village by calling Joni to sign up. You must sign up by 9:00 am on Friday, September 25th to schedule this service.

As you can tell from the above story, the fall Apple Butter Festival was a BIG DEAL for some 13 years on the Sunnyside campus and in the community. It started as a project of a local Presbyterian church to make apple butter on campus and then was converted by Sunnyside residents into a comprehensive festival, according to Alex Banks, who oversaw production for many years. JMU students were even recruited to help stir the pots for eight to 10 hours. Money raised from the various activities of the festival went to Sunny Treasures to supplement activities and services that benefit residents at all levels of care. The last Apple Butter Festival was in 2017 and it was followed in the fall by an elaborate Soiree at the Madison Hotel in 2018 and the Festival of Trees on campus in 2019. A little virus halted such events in the following two years.