By Lori Kersey

The Tribune

Old fashioned fun, apple butter and fundraising. The administrators of a Franklin Furnace School are hoping that’s a winning combination at a festival planned for next month.

Franklin Furnace Christian Academy is hosting Community Apple Fest Oct. 23 at its Seneak Avenue location. The event will be from noon to 8 p.m.

This is the second year for the festival. Assistant pastor Dave Smith came up with the idea. Smith grew up in a family that made homemade apple butter over a fire.

“(The idea for the festival) came as a desire of mine to bring this to the community,” Smith said. “To bring back the old-fashioned way of doing things.”

Bluegrass gospel group Swauger Valley Boys will be performing during the festival.

Besides the music, the festival will feature games like a pig-calling contest, apple pie bake off, sack races, hayrides, a nail-driving contest, lawn tractor races, pony rides and hayrides.

There will also of course be apple butter.

“The apple butter made from an old-fashioned recipe passed down four generations,” Smith said. “It’s a West Virginia hillbilly old-fashioned recipe. I’m from Wayne County, W.V.a., and this recipe came out of Wayne County.”

Admission is free and the school will be selling the apple butter for $6 per pint and $9 per quart.

The food will include all-you-can-eat beans, cornbread and smoked barbeque.

Smith said he hopes the festival will draw an even bigger crowd than it did last year.

“(Last year), we had a lot of people are we’re looking for more to show up (this year),” Smith said.

Smith is hoping to raise about $3,500 for the school.

For more information, call 740-354-9301.