Apples in abundance for Long Grove fest
Dressed head to toe in their "apple garb," sisters Helen McPhail and Bobbi Barabasz are stopped on Long Grove's cobblestone paths.
"Do you work here?" visitors ask the pair.
They're the darlings of Apple Fest, mostly because of their wardrobe, but also their dedication: Both planned to spend 12 hours at the apple bonanza Friday.
"We've been asked for autographs," Barabasz says.
Both wore matching straw hats, covered in plastic apples with an apple-printed ribbon trailing from the back.
McPhail, who lives in Mount Prospect, opted for her red and green apple pants and an apple necklace.
"We're the goodwill ambassadors," says Barabasz, who lives in Des Plaines.
Long Grove prides itself on strawberries, chocolate and apples - all three earning their own festival.
Stroll the white tents along Fountain Square shops, and you'd expect to find the fresh-picked Michigan apples and apple pies baked in brown paper bags. Dig deeper, and the fruit finds its way into appletinis, apple ales and apple-flavored cigars.
The apple of most visitors' eyes? Apple cider doughnuts.
Long Grove Confectionery inherited the prized recipe after the Apple Haus bakery closed. About 50,000 fresh doughnuts will be prepared for the weekend.
Over the course of the three-day festival, organizers at Long Grove Business and Community Partners expect 18,000 people. Apple Fest leaves its mark on the throwback downtown, with retailers like Within Reach selling apple-themed children's clothes.
"You don't find villages like this anymore that are just charming and quaint," Executive Director Sharon Fine said. "People come to relax and enjoy themselves and wander around. It's the nostalgia effect."
"Everybody's in the apple mode," said Fine, pausing to correct herself, "apple a la mode."
Barabasz got her apple fix with chocolate-covered apples.
"They're almost as big as my head," she said.
Apple Fest continues 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today and Sunday with live music, food vendors, a rock-climbing wall and pony rides. Admission is $5 and free for kids.
Free parking is available in the Stempel lot off Old McHenry Road and another off Archer Road.