Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival
The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival is an annual celebration held in Winchester, Virginia, beginning on the Thursday closest to May 1. This festival marks the arrival of spring and showcases the region's apple orchards, which are celebrated for their bountiful blossoms. Winchester, recognized as Virginia's apple center, and surrounding Frederick and Clarke Counties produce millions of bushels of apples each year. The festival has a rich history, having commenced in 1924 with its inaugural parade that drew around 30,000 attendees. Originally organized by Frank L. Sublett as part of a campaign to highlight the area's natural and industrial assets, the festival has evolved into a significant community event. It features parades, performances, and various festivities that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors annually. The event continues to honor its founding purpose of welcoming spring and promoting the local apple industry while inviting a diverse audience to participate in the celebration.
Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival
Every year, beginning on the Thursday closest to May 1, Winchester, the seat of Frederick County in Virginia's historic Shenandoah Valley, is the site of the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival. Winchester, which is Virginia's apple center, hosts this fete to provide a jubilant welcome to spring against a colorful backdrop of extensive apple orchards in full bloom. Frederick County and adjoining Clarke County produce millions of bushels of apples every year.
The festival has been celebrated annually, with the exception of the World War II years, since 1924. Early in that year Frank L. Sublett was elected the first president of Shenandoah Valley, Inc., a regional chamber of commerce for the 140-mile -long valley between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny mountains. He proposed that the city of Winchester stage an Apple Blossom Festival as its contribution toward the organization's campaign “to publicize the historic, scenic, and industrial assets of this already far-famed section of Virginia and West Virginia.” The undertaking was approved at a large meeting held in Winchester on April 22. A phrase from the benediction pronounced at the close of the meeting was adopted as a motto: “The bounties of nature are the gift of God.”
On May 3, 1924, some 30,000 persons jammed the streets of Winchester to view the first festival parade, which included several bands, fire fighting equipment, and makeshift floats. The U.S. assistant secretary of war J. W. Weeks, crowned Elizabeth Steck as Apple Blossom Queen at an official coronation on the steps of Winchester's Handley High School. The purpose of the Apple Blossom Festival is still “to welcome spring, celebrate the blossoming of the apple trees, and call attention to the apple industry of the area,” but from its modest beginnings the event has grown significantly and visitors now number in the hundreds of thousands.
“History Of The Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival.” Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, 2024, www.thebloom.com/history.html. Accessed 1 May 2024.
“Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival.” Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival, 2024, www.thebloom.com/. Accessed 1 May 2024.
“Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival.” Winchester-Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau, 2024, visitwinchesterva.com/locations/shenandoah-apple-blossom-festival/. Accessed 1 May 2024.