Newport
The 45th annual Apple Pie Craft Festival from 9 a.m.-3 p.m this Saturday on Newport’s common has become a cornerstone event for the town and for thousands of others who flock to the Sunshine Town on the last weekend in August.
Peg McKenney, co-chair of the event that raises money for the Library Arts Center and the Richards Free Library, has been a longtime volunteer for the festival.
“I don’t know, at least 15, maybe 20 years,” McKenney said when asked how long she had been involved with the event.
While volunteering for large annual events in small towns can be a grind and lead to burnout, McKenney seems ready to put in another 20 years if she can.
She will be at the common by 6 a.m. on Saturday morning, pitching in wherever needed and getting things ready for fairgoers. Slowly, the early morning quiet will be broken as more and more arrive for the 9 a.m. opening.
“It is just crazy popular,” a cheerful McKenney said on Tuesday, sounding more like a youngster anticipating Christmas morning than someone preparing to put in a long day of volunteering.
She recalls standing on the bandstand very early one year and looking out over the common to a mostly empty area.
“It seemed to go so quickly from nothing to an amazing day,” McKenney said.
McKenney’s co-chair, Kathy Niboli, originated the fair idea with her mother, Marie Bugbee, as an idea to showcase local craftsmen. Today, members of both families work the fair as volunteers in some capacity, McKenney said, from her mother-in-law, Mary McKenney, and Bugbee down to great-grandchildren.
“So it is a family affair,” McKenney said.
The organizing begins in the spring with letters to potential sponsors and others who provide in-kind donations.
As June turns to July, signs go up around town and this year, sponsors can place a sign on their property announcing they are a “proud sponsor” of the fair.
A couple thousand people are expected this year from all over New England and some from beyond.
“We have a lot from out-of-town and many plan their trip home to Newport (around the fair,)” Library Arts Director Kate Luppold said. “It has grown over the years and become like an Old Home Day.”
The 130 vendor slots were filled months ago and will stretch around the common.
“It is our biggest number yet,” Luppold said. “Some vendors are local; some come from out-of-state.”
Glass, woodworking, fiber art, quilting and felting are some of the crafts that will be on display.
“We asked that the items be handmade and made by them,” Luppold said.
There will be music and plenty of food, including the popular firemen’s chicken barbecue and — of course — pies.
“We will get well over 100,” Luppold said, adding that the first 12 entered are judged in the contest.
“Baking a pie is an old-fashioned tradition that takes time, so it just blows my mind we get well over 100,” Luppold said. “It is an incredible number.”
Across from the common, the library will have its book sale and lunch on the library porch.
“It is a wonderful celebration of community and of the community of handmade crafts,” Luppold said.
Editor’s note: For more information, visit libraryartscenter.org/applepie. Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
