This past weekend, the Apple Festival of Kendallville took place at the Noble County Fairgrounds. East Noble students could be found performing in Mr. Munk’s Raise-a-Ruckus, working to raise money for their organizations in booths, and enjoying all the food and activities. The weather was rather dreary on Saturday, drizzling on and off, and Sunday was no picnic either, with cold rain throughout most of the day. However, students and citizens filled the crowds, refusing to let the rain drown them out.
When asked what their favorite part of the Apple Festival was, students responded mostly with the various foods that are available there. “My favorite part is the food, especially this chocolate dipped cheesecake,” says Joanna Foster, 11, before taking a bite. Trevor Slone,12, and Michael Johnston, 10, like the pork tenderloins made by the EN Archery team. Emily Hernandez, 11, says she likes the food and the costumes the best. Zane Gard, 10, says his favorite was the pork burger. Sean Bowers, 11, enjoyed the bottled root beer. Josh Tew, 12, likes the buffalo wings served by the Kendallville Rotary Club. Nathan Durham, 11, says, “That cheesecake down there is pretty good.” Emily Savage, 11, likes Raise-A-Ruckus the best. Taylor Wright, 11, and Walker Klopfenstein, 11, like the apple dumplings and the apple burgers. Emily Schneider, 11, says that the large amount of food is her favorite part. One of the more inspiring responses of the day was freshman Kaelyn Bender’s, who worked the straw maze in the children’s activities section, saying, “If you’re asking about working; the best part was knowing that I was doing something good to help my community. It was great seeing the community come together in such a good way, and seeing all of those families out with their kids having a good time was pretty cool too.”
Hot or cold, sunny or rainy, East Noble students aren’t going to miss out on the fun of the Apple Festival. Every year a countless number of people who grew up in Kendallville come back to enjoy the festival once more. Returning graduates of East Noble could be spotted watching and interacting with the current cast of Raise-a-Ruckus and other students. All in all, the Apple Festival had yet another successful year, bringing people, fun, and good food to Kendallville at the same time.