NASHUA – With fresh apples and pumpkins, scarecrows and hay rides, fall is in full swing in the city, and with the season of falling leaves and crisp, cool air upon Nashua the Salvation Army kicked off their twelfth annual AppleFest at Sullivan Farm on 70 Colburn Avenue.

Residents and visitors enjoyed the first day of the weekend-long festivities that have become a staple of every fall in the city. With hayrides, a petting zoo, apple picking, barbecue, live entertainment and more, the event continues to grow as the nonprofit offers more and more to the event every year.

Amie Groff, the development director at the Salvation Army and one of the event’s organizers, said that other than the yearly Christmas Kettles, the Apple Fest – along with Groundhog Breakfast – serves as one of the major fundraisers for the nonprofit.

“It just seems to grow,” Groff said, “we try to bring exciting things every year, there’s a little changes every year – this year we brought the petting zoo back – we love it. It’s something we look forward to every year.”

“It goes to help support our programs that we do,” Groff added, “like the food pantry, our emergency assistance programs, the after school programs, summer camps, our senior programs — this supports all of it.”

During Saturday’s festivities, under peak fall weather, people of all ages, along with members of their family and friends, took part in crafts, which included painting signs, making scarecrows and more; hayrides that took members around the orchard; countless games, from ring toss to an apple sling-shot, all while being able to check out vendors selling crafts and other items, and, of course, apple picking.

Groff said the organization is extremely grateful to Katherine Williams and her husband Bob, who own the farm, for being generous enough to donate their property to the Salvation Army year after year for the festival.

While being able to work together with Nashua’s last working farm, Groff said it has been amazing every year, and she said bringing people from the city and beyond to see what is offered at the location makes for a great partnership.

“Kathy and Bob, the owners, they’re amazing, and they are very, very generous, and they just open it up and allow us to use it, and our hope is also to bring people to the farm,” Groff said. “This is Nashua’s last farm, so we love being able to bring people in to support the farm. It’s a great partnership.”

With the event continuing today from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Groff said there will be an added attraction; two rescue dogs from the nonprofit Darbster Doggy, based out of Chichester, will be up for adoption.

Mathew Plamondon can be reached at 594-1244 or mplamondon@nashuatelegraph.com, @telegraph_MatP.

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