CORY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– As car after car made its way into Cory over the weekend, Shane Wiram had one word to describe the experience.
“Overwhelming,” he said. “In the town of Cory we probably only have 150 people, and I would probably venture to say yesterday we have four or five thousand people running around the town, and the town’s just not logistically big enough to handle that but we did the best we could.”
The weekend ended up being a success for the town, as they played host to thousands of guests for the 53rd annual Cory Apple Festival.
Wiram said the event has continued to expand over the years.
“We got a lot of corporate sponsors that came on board, that’s something new that we’ve not been used to. We got 130 plus craft and flea market and boutique vendors throughout the grounds,” he said.
Brazil Mayor Brian Wyndham has participated in the festival as a vendor for over 10 years. He said what makes the festival so special goes beyond apples.
“It’s about getting out, obviously a lot of people come to the festival for the food, and there’s some fantastic food here at this festival, and a very large flea market,” he said. “You’re going to find all kinds of crafts, it’s just a great mixture of everything to have an enjoyable day.”
There were still plenty of apples to be seen. One vendor sold apple dumplings, while the “Apple Stand,” a staple a the festival, sold caramel apples and apple slushies, among other things.
Wiram said proceeds went to benefit the local volunteer fire department. He said that sense of community is the driving force behind the festival.
“We’re really community pride oriented here, and to see all the folks come together and work at the fish fry, or putting up stakes, or working with crowd control,” he said. “It’s an honor to live in this community.”
He said the biggest indicator of their success is the turnout that gets larger and larger every year.
“Just the turnout alone tells you you’re doing something right, so the community has something to be proud of with this festival,” Wiram said.
