News

City honors Apple Festival board as 2022 Main Street Champion

By Lightning Reports, Published: April 12, 2023

The North Carolina Apple Festival Board, made up of volunteers who got a battlefield promotion to manage the 2022 festival after the sudden departure of the festival's longtime director, was honored as Hendersonville's 2022 Main Street Champion.

Although the festival has always been planned, organized by staffed by dozens of volunteers, last year was the first time in many years that the board had to run it with no full-time paid director. David Nicholson, the former Henderson County manager who had served as executive director for many years, resigned after community outrage over his Facebook post mocking the Juneteenth holiday recognizing the end of slavery.

“Every year this team comes together to put on a five-day festival, which brings over 250,000 attendees and produces a $12 million economic impact in the Hendersonville economy,” a narrator said in a video tribute to the board. “Volunteering to put on the festival is often a family affair with generations coming together for the love of the event and community.

“Preparing for this annual Labor Day festival is a year-round effort requiring dedicated time and support. The board books the entertainment, coordinates the vendors, manages logistics ranging from volunteers to sponsors, and plans public safety. The North Carolina Apple festival is an institution in Hendersonville, celebrating its 76th anniversary in 2022. Downtown Hendersonville is proud to select the North Carolina Apple festival board of directors as its 2022 Main Street champion.”

Mark Shepherd, the 2022 festival board vice president and chair of the parade committee, thanked city partners for their support.

“We know this festival won’t happen without yourselves, the fire department, the police department and public works,” he said. “Y'all the ones that really make this festival happen. We really appreciate everything y'all do for us.”

The Apple Festival board was also one of 38 North Carolina Main Street Champions recognized at the North Carolina Main Street Conference in Statesville on March 16.

“Main Street Champions are the key to success in downtown revitalization," said Liz Parham, Director of the N.C. Main Street & Rural Planning Center at Commerce. "They possess courage to move downtown forward; they fight for positive change and do that with creativity and innovation; and they actively get things done, while staying focused on the downtown’s economic development strategies."