Georgia Apple Festival Marks 55 Years: Two Weekends, 250+ Vendors, Oct. 10-11 and 17-18

The Georgia Apple Festival turns 55 this year, and it's spreading across two full weekends instead of one. The festival returns to the Ellijay Lions Club Fairgrounds at 1729 S. Main St. on October 10-11 and again October 17-18, with more than 250 vendors setting up booths of handmade crafts, fair food and every apple-flavored treat organizers can talk vendors into making.

Gates open at 9 a.m. both Saturdays and run until 6 p.m. On Sundays, the festival closes an hour earlier, at 5 p.m. Admission is $10 for anyone 12 and up. Kids 12 and under get in free.

That's the same price and layout Gilmer County has known for years, but the two-weekend format gives families who can't make it on the first pass a second shot before the season ends.

Leave the dog at home, but not the kids

Pets are not allowed on the Lions Club fairgrounds, festival rules for years. Service animals are the exception and are welcome everywhere on the property.

If the family dog was hoping to come along, there's a workaround a few miles away. The Apple Arts Festival, held downtown in Ellijay the same two weekends, is free to attend and pet-friendly. It runs on a similar schedule to the Lions Club event, so a visit to both is an easy day trip without backtracking across town twice.

A milestone for the road race, too

The festival weekend opens with a race that's almost as old as the festival itself. The 50th Annual Georgia Apple Festival 5K Road Race starts at the Gilmer Scout Hut on McCutchen Street on Saturday, October 10, alongside a 1-mile fun run and a Tot Trot for the youngest runners.

Fifty years of the same race, held the same festival weekend, says something about how deep this tradition runs in Gilmer County. Parents who ran it as kids are now bringing their own kids to the Tot Trot.

What else to expect on the fairgrounds

Because the event is outdoors and held rain or shine, dressing for the weather matters more than usual in October, when North Georgia mornings can start cool and warm up fast by afternoon. The fairgrounds have uneven terrain, so accessible parking is available but limited and handled first-come, first-served.

Free shuttles typically run from designated parking areas around Ellijay to the festival grounds, with details posted closer to each weekend. Picnic tables are scattered throughout the grounds for anyone hauling a plate of BBQ or a caramel apple, though they tend to fill up fast during the lunch rush.

Portable restrooms are set up throughout the fairgrounds, and kid-friendly extras like face painting and inflatables are a regular part of the festival's family-day feel.

Vendor applications for next year's festival open every January 1 and close March 31, for anyone thinking ahead to a booth of their own.

Want to swap tips on parking, shuttle stops or which vendor has the best caramel apples this year? Head over to our Community Forum to join the conversation with other locals. For more on what's happening around town this fall, browse our events coverage and community stories, and keep checking back at Ellijay Georgia Community Website for the latest on festival weekend.

Header photo: Tamparitus / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)