A horse drawn wagon carrying festivalgoers makes its way through downtown Seymour during last year’s Seymour Apple Festival Parade. The annual parade will return Saturday, Sept. 12, as part of the three day Apple Festival celebration.
SEYMOUR, Mo. — The Seymour square will fill with music, food, contests, pageantry and longtime community traditions Sept. 10 through 12 as the Seymour Apple Festival returns for three days of activities.
The festival opens Thursday, Sept. 10, with the corndog booth beginning service at 11 a.m. and booths around the square opening at noon. The ABLeS will perform from 3 to 6 p.m. on the Main Stage on the west side of the square.
The annual corndog eating contest will be held at 6:20 p.m. at the gazebo, followed by the Issac Kenneth Band at 7 p.m. on the Main Stage. Little Miss candidates will be introduced at 8:15 p.m., with the crowning of Little Miss to follow. The Issac Kenneth Band will return from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Festival activities resume Friday, Sept. 11, with booths opening at 9:30 a.m. and the corndog booth at 10 a.m.
The Ethan Jackson Band will perform from 1 to 4 p.m. on the Main Stage. Jackson is a southwest Missouri singer and songwriter whose music includes the album “Runnin N Raising Hell.” Logan Williams will perform from 5 to 7 p.m. at the gazebo.
The Apple Princess contestants will be introduced at 6:30 p.m. Friday. The Rosy Hips take the Main Stage at 7 p.m., followed by the coronation of the Seymour Apple Princess at 8:30 p.m. The band will continue performing from 9 to 10:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 12, will feature a full day of activities beginning with the 22nd annual Apple Fest 5K Run and Walk at 7:30 a.m. at the Price Cutter parking lot.
The event is open to adults and children, with proceeds benefiting the Seymour High School Athletic Department. Registration costs $20 before Sept. 1 and $30 from Sept. 2 through race day. Race day sign in will be held from 6:45 to 7:20 a.m. at Price Cutter. Shirts will be available to runners while supplies last.
Awards will be presented to the top three male and female finishers in several age groups, beginning with age 9 and younger and continuing through age 70 and older. Additional information is available from Todd Kleier at 417 300 1354 or tkleier@centurytel.net.
The festival corndog booth opens at 8 a.m. Saturday, while other booths around the square open at 9 a.m.
Children will have several opportunities to take part in the morning festivities.
Registration for the Decorated Bike Contest and Johnny Appleseed Contest begins at 8:30 a.m. at the gazebo. Decorated Bike Contest judging begins at 9 a.m., followed immediately by the Johnny Appleseed Contest. Both contests are free to enter.
The bike contest is open to bicycles, tricycles, scooters and child sized battery operated vehicles. Entries will be judged on originality and how closely they follow an apple theme. Age divisions are 5 and younger, 6 through 8 and 9 and older.
Children participating in the Johnny Appleseed Contest are encouraged to dress as the folk hero. Divisions are age 3 and younger, ages 4 through 6 and ages 7 and older.
Saturday morning will also bring the Seymour Apple Festival Parade.
Parade lineup begins around 9 a.m. on Market Street, with the parade scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. No preregistration is necessary, and a parade chairman in an orange vest will be stationed near Market and Main streets to direct entries.
There is no official parade theme, but organizers encourage decorated floats, horses and vehicles to incorporate apples. The parade traditionally includes about 100 entries, including marching bands, vintage vehicles, fire trucks and horseback riders.
For parade information, contact Jeff Rowe at 935 4281.
Several activities will begin immediately after the parade.
The Seymour School Music Department will perform on the Main Stage, while the annual Turtle Race gets underway at the gazebo. Apple entries will begin judging at the Seymour Methodist Church, and chicken dinners will be served from the barbecue booth at the southwest corner of the square.
The Turtle Race is free to enter and is limited to box turtles. Snapping turtles and aquatic turtles are not permitted. Participants are asked to mark their turtles so they can identify them following the race.
A flag raising ceremony honoring veterans will be held at 11:15 a.m. at the Main Stage.
At noon, the Apple Peeling Contest begins at the gazebo with a youth division followed by an adult division.
The Wise Guys will perform from 1 to 3 p.m. on the Main Stage. Contest awards for apple pies and other apple entries will be presented at 3:15 p.m. at the gazebo.
A silent auction featuring nonwinning apple entries will run from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. at the Apple Festival stand, while a benefit auction of the winning apple pie and other winning entries begins at 3:30 p.m. at the gazebo.
Johnny Mace & The County Line Band will perform from 4 to 7 p.m. at the gazebo. The group performs country, Southern rock and gospel music.
Psychobilly Cadillac takes the Main Stage at 7:30 p.m. for the festival’s Saturday night concert. Organization drawings will be held at 9 p.m., followed by another Psychobilly Cadillac performance from 9:30 to 10:30 p.m.
Food will remain one of the festival’s central attractions throughout the weekend.
More than 200 vendors are signed up for the festival, according to organizers. Festival offerings will include smoked pork sandwiches Friday and Saturday and barbecue chicken platters Saturday. Caramel apples, apple cider slushes, apple pie and ice cream will be available throughout all three days.
Other invited vendors will offer selections ranging from funnel cakes, fried Oreos, pizza and kettle corn to Thai food, specialty coffee, burgers, shaved ice, root beer floats, fried fish, sourdough baked goods, jambalaya, teriyaki dishes, fudge and other sweets.
All food vendors are certified by the Webster County Health Department and monitored during the festival.
From apple contests and children dressed as Johnny Appleseed to the downtown parade, live bands and familiar festival foods, the three day celebration will once again bring much of Seymour together around the town square.
Festival schedules are subject to change.
