What to Know
- Nov. 26, 27, and 28, 2021
- Live tunes, wagon rides, and old-timey treats
- Entry is free; bring funds for apple butter, pastries, pies, and more
Apples? Oh sweet seeds, do these fabulous fruits fill out our festive fall calendars, each and every juicy, fragrant, bite-crunchy year.
Apple pie? Same: It has its own national food holiday, as do apple strudel, applesauce cake, apple turnovers, and apple dumplings. Yum, yum, yum, and, if we may, yum.
But when winter is in sight, and autumn is winding down, and our thoughts are turning to the filling pleasures of warm bread, hot muffins, and decadent pastries, there really is only one apple-themed thing we want to discuss at length: apple butter.
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Oh yes, we're singing the tangy praises of the slather-it-on spread, the sundae-topping, toast-improving, eat-it-straight-from-the-jar joy-bringer that is the indisputable queen of the autumn condiment shelf.
Oak Glen, one of the Golden State's apple-awesomest spots, gets the luscious lure of this spicy stuff, which frequently employs caramelized apples, or cider, to achieve a flavor that is more fall than basically any other fall-famous foodstuff.
And to properly celebrate this gooey-good spreadable, the up-in-the-hills hamlet throws a three-day Apple Butter Festival each year.
And the 2021 event is happening, quite perfectly, over the weekend that follows Thanksgiving. When all of those breads and pastries and rolls are still in the kitchen, and we're looking for something that has an autumn-esque aroma to dabble on every dough-based goodie we encounter.
Really, though: Isn't apple butter basically fall distilled into some sort of spoonable snack? We'll consider contrary opinions, but standing our ground on this topic, we certainly will.
The dates for the Apple Butter Festival are Nov. 26, 27, and 28, and visitors to the charming village will find all sorts of craft vendors, wagon rides, fall-esque pleasures, and activities themed to apple butter.
Stores, too, will be open, if you'd like to stock up on all sorts of apple-themed snacks and treats, like the cider that's synonymous with the area.
Oh yes: And the fall colors should be especially golden as November winds down. Oak Glen has long been a regional draw for Southern California's leaf peepers, and the peeping of leaves grows especially lovely around Thanksgiving.
For more on this free-to-enter festival, which is about apple butter, yes, but also community, seasonal sweetness, and nostalgic pastimes, visit this page now.
