OXFORD – The fall chill is in the air and that means it’s time for apples and the Oxford AppleFest. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will be holding its 28th Annual AppleFest on Saturday from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. You’ll see ‘delicious’ apple motifs everywhere amidst bushels of juicy, crisp, fresh apples; cider; pies and more. Everybody’s favorite, old-fashioned apple crisp with whipped cream is back again and will be served in St. Paul’s Cantina. New this year, activities for kids will be outside under the tent. Admission is free.
The Episcopal Church Women’s (ECW) group members work especially hard to make each Festival the ‘sweetest.’ Visit the Parish House, at 32 Main Street, where there will be apples, apples, apples… Gala, Roma, Empire, and McIntosh. Enjoy door prizes, four raffles, a Chinese Auction, arts, crafts, books, baked goods, and novelty items. Kids can play games, paint a pumpkin or have their faces painted outside. Inside, shoppers can peruse the handmade ornaments, “precious particulars,” floral arrangements and more.
Before the AppleFest, look in the Oxford Village Hall display window to see one of the very special raffle items: a queen sized (85” x 93”) quilt made by Chris Kinney. Chris, a ten-year member of the ECW, worked on the quilt a ‘block a month’ at Creative Threads in Greene with Judy Pratt. The quilt, “Stitcher’s Garden,” a very labor intensive design by Lynda Howell/The Stitch Connection, took over twelve months in the making. Each appliquéd quilt block showcases different decorative machine stitches and techniques. Once together, Chris had Judy professionally machine quilt it, and the results are, as ECW member Darlene Ardron said, “The prettiest quilt they’ve ever had!”
Aside from the Stitcher’s Garden quilt, the AppleFest raffle is for a handsome wooden writing desk hand made by Charlie Vigus, a big Maple products basket, and a Wine and Cheese basket. Raffle tickets for each of the four items are selling for $2 each or 3 tickets for $5.
