23rd Annual Apple Butter Festival

Join us for the 23rd Annual Apple Butter Festival and celebrate fall at Wade’s Mill.

The Apple Butter Festival is the one time a year that we make apple butter the old-fashioned way, slow simmered in a 130+ year old copper pot over an open fire. You can take a turn stirring with the long-handled wooden paddle. Don’t miss the once-a-year opportunity to buy a jar of the freshly made, 100% natural apple butter!

Enjoy demonstrations and handcrafted work by local artisans and crafts people including blacksmithing, broom making, alpaca wool products, pottery, stained glass, lavender products, rocks and gems, jewelry, wood turning and more.

Throughout the day you’ll be able to explore Wade’s Mill’s three floors of historic milling equipment and museum displays to learn about the history and tradition of stone-ground milling and see how local grains are made into 100% natural flours, grits and corn meals.

Wade’s Mill Apple Butter Festival is a great family day out and wonderful way to celebrate the fall in the Shenandoah Valley.  Wade’s Mill is the oldest, continuously operating commercial grist mill in Virginia.  It is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.

Apple Butter Festival highlights

• Music by The New Corner Grocery and Bluegrass Band from 12:00 – 2:30 p.m.
• Fresh Wade’s Mill bread baked in our outdoor oven
• Demonstrations by local artisans and crafts people
• NEW FOR 2018! Demonstrations from the Rockbridge County Sheriff’s Office K9 Unit
• Rocks Money Pit award winning BBQ
• The Raphine Volunteer Fire Company’s famous BBQ chicken
• Authentic chuck wagon fruit cobblers cooked in a Dutch oven over an open fire
• Wine from Rockbridge Vineyard
• Cider from Halycon Days Cider Company
• Local food products including apples, chestnuts, fall produce, fresh bread and natural pet treats

FREE ADMISSION AND PARKING