Burnside Plantation’s Apple Days Festival attracted 1,400 visitors to the historic plantation. From Sept. 16 to 17, the festival was right on time for plucking apples from the orchard on the plantation.

Children were invited to pick apples, then to carry their apples down to the barn, where an old-fashioned apple press was set up outside. Then children could watch as a Historic Bethlehem volunteer ran the apples through the press, producing the raw material needed for making cider. Volunteer Ted Moyer, dressed in historic garb, explained that the pressed apples must be sent through a sieve to produce cider.

Music filled the site as bands played, and the atmosphere was festive. Crafter and vendors filled the lower field, while food and drink were on the upper field, including Colonial made beer, made by Historic Bethlehem’s Craig Larimer and his friends.

Pony rides and a petting zoo from Sunset Boarding Stables delighted children, and Artsquest’s Banana Factory offered several crafts for children as well. The Bethlehem Area Public Library brought its Reading to Dogs program. Children could sit and read with the pups in the lower barn.

As was usual this autumn, the weather was variable, but this didn’t deter the crowds from attending, many going home with apple treats. There were goods for sale in the main barn, as well as in a tent as guests left the festival. Treats included Apple Cider Donut Holes from the Backdoor Bakeshop, apple pies, of course, and even apple ice cream.