Cider doughnuts rule at Apple Festival

The 20th annual Long Grove Apple Festival takes place Sept. 28-30 and will include apple-themed treats and live music.

Updated: September 27, 2012 8:52AM

The Apple Haus will return for a limited time to Long Grove for the 20th annual Apple Festival this weekend to serve up its renowned apple pies and classic apple cider donuts.

“They’ll be setting up where the Apple Haus used to be and hopefully they’ll be nice long lines again for pies and donuts,” said Tobin Fraley, director of the Long Grove Arts & Music Council, who is pleased the former owners of Apple Haus who closed after 35 years in January will be making their pies and doughnuts at their Long Grove Confectionery just for the festival.

The Long Grove Apple Fest will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday to Sunday, Sept. 28-30, in the downtown Long Grove Historic District at Old McHenry Road and Robert Parker Coffin Road. Organizers hope their biggest festival of the year will invigorate the struggling downtown area while celebrating fall’s harvest.

“Long Grove has come together to celebrate our beloved harvest of apples and community ties with the Apple Festival with two decades of memories and this year it will be bigger and better than ever,” said Rachel Perkal, president of the Long Grove Business and Community Partners Organization. “In addition to all the strolling street performers, musicians and entertainment, our local shops and restaurants also mark the Apple Festival as a new harvest of autumn-inspired merchandise and specials.”

Area businesses plan to offer everything from hot apple cider and caramel apple lattes to apple martinis while local farmers will have booths selling baskets full of tree-ripened apple varieties at street corners. The festival offers an apple donut eating contest, shopping, dining and live music throughout the downtown district.

John Kopecky, owner of the Country House and president of the Lions Club, is organizing the entertainment for the Lions Den stage in front of his store.

“We have two stages with tap dancers by the bridge plus a caricatures artist and face painter,” he said. “In conjunction with what we do, the merchants association is having jugglers, mimes, stilt walkers, which will be pretty cool.”

Kopecky admits that the economy, combined with a series of retirements, hit the businesses in downtown Long Grove hard recently.

“Long Grove is like a caterpillar who goes to sleep then comes out as a butterfly,” said Kopecky, a longtime resident and business owner. “We’re starting to come out of the pupa stage. But we always do the fests well.”

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