GRAND RAPIDS — Once again Grand Rapids was flooded Sunday with a sea of visitors slowly streaming along
Front Street during the annual Applebutter Festival.
“It’s just a nice way to spend a day,” said Ruth Bassett of Napoleon. She and her sister, Terri Mt.
Castle of McClure, have been attending the festival ever since it started 33 years ago.
They have their festival-day routine down pat — starting with arriving by 6:30 a.m. (before the police
block off the town). That guarantees them a parking spot close to Front Street, which makes it
convenient to take whatever they buy throughout the day back to their car. Soon after arriving they
always have breakfast at a restaurant and enjoy observing the transformation of the downtown into more
than 100 craft vendor tents and stages for entertainers to perform.
“It’s fun to watch people setting up,” said Mt. Castle, who rates the applebutter fest as “the best fall
festival in the area.”
Later in the day they enjoyed steak hoagies and colossal onions before purchasing their annual supply of
applebutter from the festival-sponsoring Grand Rapids Historical Society.
The never-ending flow of festival-goers created long lines for most food vendors and a steady crush of
people packed in front of the craft tents.
Some of the vendors reported this was “the best year they ever had” at the festival, said Chuck Thomas,
co-chair of the festival committee. Others reported sales were similar to previous festivals, and a very
few reported sales were down a bit.
As of Sunday night, Thomas had not yet heard any figures for how many parking passes had been sold during
the day, but he sensed it “might not be quite as many as last year,” when the temperature climbed into
the 80s.
Sunday “was a nice fall day, and we sold out of all our applebutter,” Thomas added.
The canal towpath also was filled with people watching military re-enactors from several different
periods of time as well as people demonstrating skills of days of old.
Thomas said the historical society concentrates on “making things work” for the re-enactors and people
demonstrating pioneer crafts. He said the committee views the Living History Encampment as a very
important part of the festival.
Belinda Morgan of Holland and Lee Randle of Toledo were among several re-enactors with the 5th Regiment
Cavalry U.S. Colored Troops unit sitting around a camp fire. Randle was making cartridges for his rifle,
while Morgan was just finishing some beans cooked over the open fire when they were interviewed.
Some years, when it’s a bit warmer, she said the re-enactors cook fish that they catch that day in the
Maumee River.
A short distance down the towpath visitors could watch Marilee Walter of Grand Rapids carding wool from
sheep and llamas until it was straight enough for Carol Perry of Liberty Center to spin it into yarn.

Beside them was Sandy Mann, who was demonstrating felting, which was used to make Indian blankets and
saddle blankets. This is the third time she has driven down from her home in Adrian, Mich., to
participate in the applebutter fest.
Adding to the picturesque canal scene were people in canoes.
Colin Martin of River Lures canoe and kayak sales and rentals said about two dozen canoes had been rented
by early afternoon — not quite as busy as it was last year when the weather was warmer.
The Farm & Steam exhibit was set up in Bluebell Park off the east end of Front Street.
Dave Luttrell of Grand Rapids was among several volunteers demonstrating the shelling of corn from cobs
to make corn meal.
Numerous antique tractors, some dating back to the 1930s, were also on display in the exhibit area.