This weekend will be bittersweet for the Reids. After 37 years and exponential growth, the family is hosting their final Apple Festival at the orchard this Saturday and Sunday.
The event isn’t going away altogether, as the Daviess County Lions Club is taking the reins and hosting it at their Fairgrounds next year.
But for the Reids, it’s essentially the end of an era.
Kathy Reid and her husband, Bill, started hosting the festival in 1986 — back then they were happy to have 3,000 people on the farm. Now they host about 25,000 people over the two-day event.
In the past, the festival has made and run out of 1,500 gallons of cider, 16,000 pounds of apples, 3,000 caramel apple sundaes, and 1,500 caramel apples.
“We’ve been very blessed to have all this happening for us as it’s grown over the years,” Reid said.
Because it has grown so large and requires so much manpower and advanced planning, the Reids have been talking for the last few years about trying to hand off the festival to another group.
In their farewell year, they still plan to keep the tradition as much as possible. That means horse rides, petting zoos, a play area, carnival rides, and booths of any and every kind.
Reid said through they years the family has been thankful that people continue to come back, regardless of what draws them in.
“We’ve been able to bring the community involvement. There are a lot of groups that come out, and this is a fundraiser for them and so a lot of that money goes back into our communities. So we’re very glad that goes on,” she said.
While they’ll be handing off their signature event, Reid said this isn’t the end of fun on the farm.
Reid’s Orchard is now planning on holding several smaller events throughout the year.
In August, they hosted the inaugural Peach Bliss, which brought in several booths and guests. Reid said people can look forward to a Christmas event before the year is over.
“I just want to thank the community and all of their support over the years,” Reid said. “It’s been great and we’ve enjoyed having all the participation. All the groups that have come out and the food, they all have put a lot of work in to help us make this successful.”
