Jackson County Apple Festival
The Jackson County Apple Festival is an annual festival dedicated to the apple held in Jackson, Ohio, United States. The festival was created to promote Jackson County's leading agricultural product, which at the time was grown by over forty farms in the area.
== Dates ==
The Apple Festival is held on the third weekend in September.  The festival starts at noon on Tuesday and ends on Saturday night.
== Locations ==
Starting on the Saturday before the festival, downtown streets (Broadway St. between Water St. and Walnut St.; Main St. between Columbia St. and Portsmouth St.; and Pearl St. between Church St. and Portsmouth St.) are closed in Jackson.  They are reopened by 5:00 pm on Sunday.
== History ==
In the spring of 1937, a group of members from the Jackson Chamber of Commerce decided to create a festival that would help promote the county's leading industry.
The Apple Festival has been held annually since 1937, but was silenced from 1942 to 1945 during World War II & 2020 caused by COVID-19 pandemic.
== Traditions ==
The Friday night home high-school football game, at Jackson High School during the week of the festival, is dubbed The Apple Bowl.
Several parades are held during the festival.  A school parade is held on Wednesday afternoon.  Wednesday evening is the Opening Parade.  Thursday at noon is the Pre-School Parade.
The Saturday night Grande Finale Parade is the festival's biggest event, with over 70,000 people attending, and has a claim as the largest lighted parade in Ohio.  The parade annually includes local dignitaries and politicians, neighboring festival royalty, and invited high school marching bands from across southern and southeastern Ohio and northern West Virginia; as well as floats from each of the elementary schools in and around Jackson, which depict the annual theme of the festival.  The Budweiser Clydesdale Horses have been a part of this parade two times during the 1990s.  On September 21, 2001, The Ohio State University Marching Band (TBDBITL) performed a halftime field show at the Jackson High School football field, and that night marched in the Festival parade for the first time; the Ohio State Alumni Band has also made several appearances in the parade lineup.  The U.S. Marine Corps Band appeared in the 2007 parade.
Another long-standing tradition of the Jackson County Apple Festival is a pageant for the Apple Festival Queen.
== List of Apple Festival Queens ==
1937: Jean Clark
1938: Alta Swingle
1939: Betty Richards
1940: Ruth Horton
1941: Helen Woodruff
(World War II hiatus)1946: Nancy Schellenger
1947: Pat May
1948: Ruth Ann Hixon
1949: Carolyn Conroy
1950: Phyllis Claar
1951: Marjorie Downard
1952: Shirley Walburn
1953: Melva Finch
1954: Edna Burton
1955: Phyllis Mullins
1956: Pat Richards
1957: Vivian Patterson
1958: Janet Corvin
1959: Beverly Varchmin
1960: Henrietta Fulton
1961: Paula Hess
1962: Carolyn Myers
1963: Barbara Sergent
1964: Janet Simpson
1965: Sue Surface
1966: Kathy Richards
1967: Linda Crabtree
1968: Brenda Dalton
1969: Lynn Morgan
1970: Connie Tucker (became Miss Ohio Festivals)
1970: Lin Schneider (replaced Connie Tucker)
1971: Jan Russ
1972: Drema Crawford
1973: Stephanie Davis
1974: Iris Wardlow
1975: Mary Rupert
1976: Noreena Maynard
1977: Tammy Baisden
1978: Susan Ridge
1979: Sheryl Tolliver
1980: Jill Martin
1981: Sharon Dearing
1982: Carla Cooper
1983: Lisa Humphreys
1984: Barbie Britton
1985: Tammy Hill
1986: Christina Hill
1987: Michelle Tackett
1988: Leigh Ann Cox
1989: Sarah Sheward
1990: Gwen Wood
1991: Jodie Brown
1992: Susan Moore
1993: Christy Warrens
1994: Marlana Malone
1995: Alicia Parker
1996: Bethany Hodge
1997: Nicole Fulton
1998: Julie Murray
1999: Sarah Williamson
2000: Kristi Sturgill
2001: Jenny Bragg
2002: Erikka Jo Alcantara
2003: Courtney Wills
2004: Rikki Atwood
2005: Shara Lahrmer
2006: Kayla McMillen
2007: Sarah Newkirk
2008: Candace Chapman
2009: Allyson Seitz
2010: Taryn Strawser
2011: Karena Fulks
2012: JoBeth Winchester
2013: Karleigh Atwood
2014: Logan Woodyard
2015: Maddie Campbell
2015: Lexie Webb (replaced Maddie Campbell)
2016: Tori Leonard
2017: Alyssa Proehl
2018: Briley Lusk
2019: Madison Strawser
(COVID-19 pandemic hiatus in 2020)2021: Kaydee Brown
2022: Abby Donley
2023: Abby Plants
List of festivals in the United States

== External links ==
The Official Jackson Apple Festival Website
The Apple of Ohio's Eye - Aug. 31, 2005 Archived 2006-03-23 at the Wayback Machine
WSAZ: Football Nights and Apple Delights - Sept. 18, 2007
Ohio Festival & Events Association Membership
Britannica.com on Ohio culture, including Apple Festival