After nearly 40 years of fun for families, Applefest saw a big boost in popularity last year.
This year’s 40th event will take place on Sept. 27 at Markham Museum, building on the growth in attendance and sales from last year.
The annual festival focuses on teaching guests of all ages about Markham’s apple history and agricultural roots.
Step back in time with demonstrations of blacksmithing and printing, plus enjoy hands-on activities like apple schnitzing.
There are plenty of other fun activities including the Don Valley North Trolley trackless train, inflatables and games area, orchard apple picking, face painting, mini-golf, live shows, museum exhibitions, and great photo spots.
You can grab some cider and snacks at the Brews ‘n Bites area managed by Rouge River Brewing Company. For the first time ever, they’ll also have non-alcoholic beer available at the festival.
After nearly 40 years of fun for families, Applefest saw a big boost in popularity last year.
The 2024 event attracted 65 percent more new visitors compared to the previous year and tripled memberships at Markham Museum.
Additionally, it led to a rise in ticket sales as well as fresh-pressed cider and gift shop sales by 25 percent, 80 percent, and an impressive 135 percent respectively.
This success earned it a Top 100 Events Award from Festivals and Events Ontario for 2025.
Lilian Galstanian, the event coordinator for Applefest, mentioned that rebranding efforts along with a new logo and partnership with Rouge River Brewing Company may have played a role in last year’s growth.
“We definitely got more of the 20- and 30-year-olds coming in instead of just families with kids,” she said.
“These efforts not only brought in 65 percent new visitors but also significantly boosted revenue across multiple areas while reinforcing the importance of evolving the festival while staying true to its roots.”
Galstanian hopes that as they celebrate their 40th anniversary this year, they can continue to grow even further.
“We’re continuing to utilize that [marketing and rebranding] and give it a push to grow and expand from there – not only further into our community but also into York Region and the GTA.”
Visit markhammuseum. ca for more details or to buy tickets for the festival.
David Yin is a federally funded reporter at Markham Review
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