An apple a day…
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Adelaide Bowne, 14, and her brother Wyatt, 10, of Houston, test their skills at the archery station during the annual Hickory Apple Festival Sunday afternoon. The two attended the festival with their parents, Michelle and Josh Bowne.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
With the help of Jerry Digennaro, Jordan Campagna, 15, right, makes her move Sunday afternoon. Campagna had a grand time playing apple checkers with her friend Aryanna Digennaro, 12, of Bethel Park, left.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
One-year-old Lucy Monger, of Hickory, is all smiles at her first Hickory Apple Festival, where she and her mom, April Monger, danced to the silly tunes of the Rock and Roll Pet Show Sunday afternoon.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Jack Hnat, 5, of Collier, checks his competition mid-contest Sunday afternoon, when he won the Hickory Apple Festival’s 6 and under apple pie eating contest. Hnat has won every year for the last five years, he said.
Katherine Mansfield/Observer-Reporter
Jollyn Nolan, of Florida, and Jon Hnat, of Collier, employ similar-but-different strategies during the Hickory Apple Festival’s pie eating contest Sunday afternoon. Nolan, originally of Hickory, tried to drink the pie while Hnat flipped the tin with his teeth so he could down the pie in a few big bites.
It wasn’t so much “high apple pie in the sky” as it was lots of apple pie on chins, in hair and on the ground Sunday afternoon, when dozens, to the delight of spectators, woofed down apple pies during Hickory Apple Festival’s apple pie eating contest. Jack Hnat, 5, of Collier, was the first in the 6 and under contest to scarf down an entire mini pie, and excitedly announced this was his third-annual win. First-time festival attendee Lucy Monger, 1, didn’t compete, but she did have a wonderful time dancing with her mama April Monger during the Rock and Roll Pet Show. Folks spent the weekend browsing vendors booths, enjoying good eats, including apple pie a la mode and warm apple cider, and even playing checkers and tic-tac-toe with fresh apples. The Hickory Apple Festival is the Mt. Pleasant Township Volunteer Fire Company’s largest fundraiser.