By Chris Bavender
The Arts & Design District Business Association of Carmel will sponsor its second Carmel Applefest from 1 to 5 p.m. on Oct. 26 in the PNC bank parking lot at the corner of Main Street and Range Line Road.
“We wanted to offer a free and fun community event for families and let them know what is all here in the district,” said Jill Zaniker, owner of Simply Sweet Shoppe. “They can explore while having a fun day of festivities all tying into scholarships and giving back to the arts.”
Applefest was created by the business association to fund three high school art contest scholarships. All high school-aged students in Hamilton County were eligible to participate in the scholarship contest that will be judged on artwork submitted by the students for exhibition. The only requirement was that the submitted pictures must have an apple or caramel in them.
“Last year was so much fun because we got someone doing a sculpture of a tree holding an apple, we had chalk pastels, pen and ink drawings, photography – just a whole bunch of different things,” Zaniker said. “That’s what I love about art – it is just so subjective and so very true to the artists.”
In addition to the art contest entries on display, the festival will feature food, children’s games, face painting, live music and trick-or-treating in the Arts & Design District. Children are encouraged to come in costume. Trick-or-treat bags and stickers will be provided.
Students from the School of Rock and Midwest School of Voice also will be performing onstage, as will actors from the Carmel Theatre Company.
“Most of the (association’s) businesses participate and have a tent with an activity to do. Last year I had marshmallow shooters and they could shoot an apple off a board,” Zaniker said. “We are also encouraging a lot of the restaurants to maybe have an apple special or caramel apple special to try and get everyone involved in some way.”
