Apple festival to mark 59 years this weekend

Oct. 1—PAINTSVILLE — Bryce Leatherwood and Tyler Booth will headline the Kentucky Apple Festival on Friday and Saturday, with vendors and live music.

In its 59th year, the festival actually dates to 1950, when a local bank displayed apples in its lobby, alongside the names of the farmers who grew them; judges from the University of Kentucky began awarding prizes and customers began visiting the farms to purchase their favorites.

By 1963, the city allowed Court Street to be roped off on the first Saturday of each October so residents could see the prized local apples. The apple market was so successful, the Kentucky Apple Festival was presented in 1973.

lmon Davis, a loan officer at Citizens Bank of Kentucky (then Citizens National Bank), was named the first chairman and was nicknamed "Mr. Apple." He served as chairman of the Apple Festival for more than 20 years.

Davis would eventually start his own apple orchard after retirement and served as Apple King in 1986. The following year, then-governor Martha Layne Collins named Oct. 3 Elmon Davis Day, and Davis was grand marshal of the parade. He served on the festival board until his death in 1995.

Leatherwood, 23, will perform on Oct. 6 on the main stage. He's known for winning Season 22 of the NBC show "The Voice." He's been working as a professional musician ever since.

At 26, Booth, a Wolfe County native, attended Morehead State University and signed with Sony Music Nashville in 2020.

Vendors will include arts and crafts, merchant mart and flea market, in addition to informational vendors of public service organizations and community outreach programs. Favorite apple-centric food include tiger ears and fried apple pies.

Carnival rides will be available and the parade is scheduled for 2 p.m. Oct. 7.