50 Years of Nappanee’s Apple Festival, What You Can Expect

NAPANEE, Ind. -- If you're looking for the ultimate fall weekend plans, Nappanee is the place to be. The 50th annual Nappanee Apple Festival is officially underway, complete with live music, vendor shopping, and of course, its famous seven-foot pie.

“Just a little bit about the pie. It is 7 feet in diameter, and it takes about 16 bushels of apples, 80 pounds of pie dough, and it's in the oven for 17 hours to bake,” said Chief Pie Maker for 7-Foot Apple Pie, Mim Hartman. “So, and it takes about 10 fellas to pick it up because it weighs about 600 pounds.”

With a custom-made pie pan and oven that's nearly as old as the festival itself, this pie's history is almost as rich as its taste! The festival expects to be completely sold out by Saturday afternoon.

“It was actually voted as number one attraction for pies in Indiana this year,” said Hartman.

That isn't the only apple-inspired treat you'll find here.

Q: What's your favorite part about being here?

A: “The apple fritters!” said Apple Festival musician Adrienne Frailey.

“I am a donut lover of all kinds. So definitely the apple cider donuts are probably my favorite,” said Miss Nappanee Apple Blossom Festival Queen 2026–2027 Paige Lantz.

Once filled up on all thing's apple, take a stroll through the local vendor booths to do a little shopping, listen to live music across two different performance stages, or just take the opportunity to connect with the community.

“It's just such a big community and such a lovely place to be,” said Lantz.

Today is day two of the Nappanee Apple Festival, and the fun runs through Sunday. Plus, new this year, a drone show tomorrow night at 9:00 PM will celebrate 50 years of the festival, making it the perfect fall activity for this weekend.