GRAND RAPIDS, Ohio — The excitement is building for the annual Grand Rapids Applebutter Fest when thousands will pack the downtown streets to try the spread.
Forty-five bushels of apples have been peeled and prepped for the 46th year of the festival on Sunday. Dozens of volunteers have been helping get the festival ready since September.
"We used to do 75 bushels and that took like a day and a half," festival co-chair Chuck Thomas said.
Organizers say it brings more than 40,000 people to Grand Rapids.
Saturday and Sunday, we pretty much shut the town down," Thomas said. "We have to have the support from local residents and city council and such."
It's one of the biggest events held in Grand Rapids and many of the residents like to help. Production line manager Angie Studer got involved three years ago.
"I had just moved back to the community and wanted to get involved," Studer said. "This is an incredible tradition and it brings the community together."
She takes pride in the hard work everyone puts in to make sure the fest is a success. She also takes pride in managing the production line.
"As soon as they bring the apple butter off it comes right over and we just assembly line all the way down. Canning, wiping, lidding, labeling and selling. It's like boom, right out the door," Studer said.
They say the process of cooking apple butter takes five to six hours, which means a lot of it is made beforehand. But, they will have two kettles at the fest to allow people to get the full experience.
"People can come in and stir, they can participate and help in the canning," Thomas said. "We'll have a lot of hands-on stuff for people to do during the Applebutter Fest."
The Applebutter Fest will be held on Oct. 8 from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.