All is set for the 2024 Morden Corn and Apple Festival, and organizers are confident it will be a big weekend for the city.
“It was almost coming up way too quickly. It wasn’t too long ago it seemed like we had so much time,” said festival chairperson Nathan Knight ahead of the Aug. 23-25 community celebration.
“Everything has fallen into place … we’re making it happen,” he said. “Most of our key people have stuck around for us this year as far as volunteers … we do have a new executive director, but she has been fitting into the role quite nicely. Obviously, it’s quite a learning curve.
“There’s so many moving parts … and when you have a street festival like this, it can be one of the biggest charms,” he said.
The festival has so much going for it, suggested Knight, citing the sheer amount of options of things to enjoy.
There are activities for people of all ages—everything from the petting zoo and reptile area for the kids to the Wonder Shows midway to the favourite old-time music at the Cottonwood stage
He believes another main appeal for people is the weekend doesn’t have to cost you a lot of money.
“You can come here first of all for very little money … we do want you though to come spend money, of course, because we have amazing food vendors. I believe we have more food vendors than any other festival in Manitoba.
“It’s definitely worth the drive,” said Knight, who added he believes their new approach to the main stage entertainment as well is a major draw.
“We made the decision a couple years ago to focus on specific demographics as to who we were going after with our entertainment and not so much focusing on the genre of music, and that seems to have worked well for us.”
The ‘90s rock headline evening Saturday will feature The Watchmen and 54-40 as well as local band Sun Sets West, while Friday will feature a Supertramp and Pink Floyd cover band called Album Sides as well as That 80s Band.
And, of course, the Saturday morning parade again promises to be perhaps the largest in the province.
“I believe entries are very much on par this year with what we had last year,” Knight shared. “A lot of the things that we do for the festival are either one of the largest or the largest in the region, so a lot goes into all of it.”
In addition, there is not only the Cottonwood dance stage but also the youth stage at the Kenmor Theatre. Aside from all of the other regular features, perhaps most notably the free corn on the cob and apple cider, there are further events that are a draw, such as the car show in the park on Sunday and car racing at Dead Horse Speedway.
“We do try to have a variety for absolutely everybody,” Knight said. “There should be something there for everybody.”
He noted being a street festival is a challenge for them in some ways.
“It also limits how far or how fast you can grow,” he said, noting as well that any empty street spaces might not be from a lack of interest.
“The power requirement for things like food trucks just gets greater and greater … so we’re not limited by interest. We’re actually limited by the infrastructure so that we can properly serve all our vendors.
“We’re trying to actively search out vendors who maybe don’t require a lot of power,” Knight noted. “And our craft tents are always overflowing. We always have a waiting list … so I think some of this individuals might opt for full spots on the street.”
Finally, Knight said they are always happy to see more people get involved in some way to help out at the festival.
“There’s always a need for more volunteers … it doesn’t have to be in too large of a capacity. You can work a two hour shift helping out on the weekend if you want.”
You can find more information about the festival’s complete schedule online at www.cornandapple.com.
