Johnny Appleseed Festival: Activities

Abraham Lincoln Impersonator

Image credits: Brett Huguenard

If you happen to be an Abe Lincoln fan, there is also an Abraham Lincoln impersonator present at the festival every year. When I was very young, I remember seeing this gentleman come to my elementary school for a particular history-related function the school had. If I'm not mistaken, I believe it was for Fort Wayne's Bicentennial in 1994. I also remember seeing him at none other than the Abraham Lincoln Museum in Fort Wayne. Though I don't recall his name, I know that he has been doing this for years. Needless to say, he is also very knowledgeable about the real Abraham Lincoln, and the times in which he lived. It's very interesting and informative to speak with this gentleman about what he does.

Entertainment Venue

Image credits: Brett Huguenard

The picture above is of one of the many entertainment venues scattered throughout Johnny Appleseed Park. Many of the workers of the festival operate these venues; some being educational, some being entertaining, some being musical, and some being a mix of all. Geared for all ages, these venues are one of the festival's most interesting activities. Below is one of the educational venues, this Colonial-age medical care display had a worker talking about the health care of the day. Needless to say, the medical equipment back then was quite crude...

Image credits: Brett Huguenard

Bagpipe Corps

Image credits: Brett Huguenard

The bagpipe corps have always been another one of my favorites at the festival. They will occasionally march around the festival grounds playing familiar bagpipe tunes such as 'Scotland the Brave' and 'When the Battle is Over' along with many other numbers; these are just the two that I happened to hear being played. A video of the bagpipe corps playing 'Scotland the Brave' can be viewed below.

Video credits: Brett Huguenard

The Johnny Appleseed Festival of Fort Wayne, Indiana

I have lived in Fort Wayne all my life and for many of those years I have attended the Johnny Appleseed Festival. Every time I go, I discover something new and exciting about the festival that I didn't know or realize during any of my previous festival-going experiences. I have fond memories of going to this particular festival when I was very young when my parents would take my brother and I. To this day, the coming of the Johnny Appleseed Festival is something I look forward to every year.

One of my favorites aspects of the festival every year is the authentic food that is prepared and served there as it was in the days of John Chapman, or more affectionately known as Johnny Appleseed. The food served at this festival is truly one of things that keeps me coming back year after year. Due to the authentic ingredients used and the cooking-over-a-campfire method practiced by the cooks at the festival, the dishes offered there have that great, old-fashioned and home cooked taste that is so hard to find these days. Our modern methods of cooking can be greatly challenged when compared with foods created in the ways that are practiced during this festival. For myself, one incredibly tasty food stands out above the rest; the cornbread would have to be the real winner at the festival. Served with a lump of hand-churned butter on top, the cornbread at the festival is among the best and most wholesome foods I've every tasted.

For the antique lover, the Johnny Appleseed Festival can be a haven for finding rare and authentic antiques. There are several vendors with pavilions scattered amongst the festival grounds with some selling specialized or categorized antiques, while others sell more of a variety of such items. Whether someone is redecorating their home, attempting to purchase a small piece of history, or buying an antique as a gift, one can surely find it at the Johnny Appleseed Festival.

Every year at the festival, a wide range of minor reenactments can be seen and experienced by all. One of my particular favorites is the firing of the historic cannons on display at the festival. Even though I'm fully aware of just how loud these cannons are, they still make me jump every year. Musketeers in uniform can also be seen wandering around at the festival, occasionally drilling, marching, and sometimes even firing their flintlock muskets into the air, naturally with blank loads.

One of the more interesting crafts I noticed the last time I went to the Johnny Appleseed Festival was the blacksmithing booth that was on display. The workers there were using the same methods as used in earlier days to create items for sale and display at the festival. Just to watch these men and women hammer a piece of raw metal into an everyday useful item was very interesting, yet also educational. Quilt making could also be seen being demonstrated at the festival, and for those quilt collectors, the quilts go on sale when they are completed.

A favorite for many of the festival-goers every year is to see the live bagpipe performers. Playing familiar tunes such as 'Scotland the Brave', 'When the Battle is Over', and 'Reveille' can be heard as the performers march around the festival grounds. Children seem captivated by the sights and sounds of this particular aspect of the Johnny Appleseed Festival, always smiling and waving as the performers march on by them. Wearing the full Scottish attire, the performers play excellently and without tire every year as they entertain the thousands that come to the festival every year.

Whether you are a resident of Fort Wayne, the surrounding area, or perhaps even a more distant traveler, this event is never a disappointment. The men and women that organize, perform, and work at the festival do an excellent job without fail every year. The citizens of Fort Wayne are proud to have this exciting festival hosted in their great hometown, as I know I am. Anyone who has not been to the Johnny Appleseed Festival in Fort Wayne, Indiana, I greatly recommend that you come out and see what all the commotion is about when the next annual festival comes around.

-Original Article Written by Brett Huguenard

Pages

Activities

Abraham Lincoln Impersonator

Entertainment Venue

Bagpipe Corps