It's a pleasure to welcome back the Apple Festival

Unicoi County residents need some fun, and the long-running Unicoi County Apple Festival has always delivered a rollicking good time for both locals and visitors. The festival, canceled last year in the wake of the catastrophic flooding produced by the remnants of Hurricane Helene, has now been around for 48 years, although the event was also cancelled in 2020 due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. Two cancellations in a 48-year history is not a bad track record but here is to the hope that such an action will never again be necessary. I'm thrilled to welcome this beloved event. Last year, The Erwin Record counted down the days to the arrival of the festival with daily photos of people with apples on our Facebook page and videos of people with apples on our Instagram page as part of our "An Apple a Day" campaign to welcome the festival that never materialized. In the days after the flooding, we continued to run the photos and videos. This year, the newspaper adapted the social media campaign into a contest for its readers. We received dozens of creative entries from people eagerly anticipating this year's festival. The Unicoi County Chamber of Commerce has enhanced the yearly festival with some interesting additions, including a Nursing Nook and the inclusion of sign language interpreters at performance stages to provide a more complete festival experience for guests who are deaf or hard of hearing. There's also an Apple Decorating Contest. All of these activities had been planned for last year, and fortunately they have resurfaced for the 2025 festival. As always, in producing a special tabloid publication for the festival, The Erwin Record focused on what is so special about the Apple Festival and Unicoi County. This special supplement is filled with stories on some interesting residents of the Valley Beautiful and comprehensive coverage of what this festival will offer to attendees. Enjoy our annual Unicoi County Apple Festival special supplement and then come out and enjoy another Apple Festival. If you're a regular visitor, you're going to love the new aspects of this year's celebrations. If you've never attended, what are you waiting for? The festival has something for everyone. ••• Bryan Stevens is the managing editor for The Erwin Record.