Area festivals in Grand Rapids, Tecumseh celebrate tastes of autumn

Gregary Brunner of Berlin Center, Ohio, left, helps Jack Jones of Bowling Green, stir a pot of apple butter during last year's Applebutter Fest in Grand Rapids, Ohio.

Apples and pumpkins.

Pumpkins and apples.

Toss in some gourds, cider, apple butter, the smell of fallen leaves, crisp autumn days, and all the ingredients are in place this weekend for a couple of classic fall festivals in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan.

The Grand Rapids Applebutter Fest is celebrating its 32nd year in the Wood County village along the Maumee River.

Hours for the Sunday event sponsored by the Historical Society of Grand Rapids are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

One of the main features will be the making of apple butter in three 50-gallon copper kettles outside the restored Town Hall. More than 2,300 pints of apple butter will be sold.

Various historical re-enactors will be at the event, firing guns and giving visitors a view of what life was like hundreds of years ago.

Re-enactors and volunteers will demonstrate candle-dipping, blacksmithing, pottery-making, basket-weaving, and more.

Two stages will feature a variety of musical styles, including bluegrass, country, Dixieland, and gospel. The Linenkugels Dulcimer Family will play in Town Hall Park.

A number of community groups will sell food and crafts at the festival to raise money for their organizations. They will be identifiable by the large red apple placard on their booths.

Crafts, kids games, and other activities will take place at the event. The only cost is a $7 parking pass.

Grand Rapids is in the northwest corner of Wood County, just over the Lucas County line.

In Tecumseh, Mich., the annual Appleumpkin Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday. It is held in conjunction with the Kapnick Orchards Apple Festival and will feature arts and crafts, an antiques street fair, midway rides, and plenty of food.

The festival will be Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in downtown Tecumseh and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tecumseh is northeast of Adrian on M-50.