BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV — One of the largest and longest-running fall festivals in West Virginia is about to celebrate a milestone half a century in the making. The 50th Annual Apple Butter Festival returns to historic Berkeley Springs on Saturday and Sunday, October 11 and 12, 2025, promising a weekend packed with the sweet smell of tradition, the energy of community, and the excitement of something new. Festivities kick off a day early on Friday, October 10, when the Craft Beer and WV Wine Garden opens from 5–9 PM with craft breweries, local wineries, distilleries, food trucks, and live music to get the celebration started.
The golden anniversary theme, “A Kettle Full of Memories: 50 Years of Apple Butter Festival,” sets the tone for a weekend that’s as much about honoring the past as it is about making new memories. A nostalgic hometown parade launches the fun on Saturday morning at 9am, followed by two full days of family-friendly games and contests, toe-tapping music, country food, fine arts, and local crafts. And of course, the undisputed star of the festival remains the fragrant apple butter bubbling away in giant copper kettles in Berkeley Springs State Park. The Greenwood Community Center is continuing this beloved tradition, once again leading the effort, stirring and selling the apple butter that draws visitors back year after year. “Volunteers stirring apple butter in the kettles is the most photographed activity of the festival,” said Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Happy Rone. “It’s the heart of our celebration, and this year we’re honoring every memory those kettles have created over the past fifty years.”
This year’s golden celebration isn’t just a festival, it’s a living scrapbook of five decades of small-town magic. From the first bite of hot apple butter to the last note of live music, visitors will experience everything that has made this event a West Virginia treasure for half a century.
Grand marshals for the 2025 parade are the winners of the Berkeley Springs 3nd Annual Morgan County Chamber of Commerce Community Awards. This amazing group includes Apple Butter Volunteer of the Year Sabrena Funk, Educator of the Year Bob Myers, Employee of the Year Mike Potter, Small Business of the Year CJ’s Floral & Gift Shop, Large Business of the Year The Country Inn of Berkeley Springs, Community Hero Captain Seth Place, Community Service Award recipient Peace Blossom Judge, and, of course, the Morganite Award winner Beth Curtin. These 8 people/organizations were honored at a banquet in September, and will serve as the grand marshals.
The Craft Beer and WV Wine Garden continues to be a hit as festivalgoers sample from local breweries, wineries and distributors. While sampling, you’ll enjoy Mark Cullinane Friday Night, Sweet Yonder on Saturday, and the Luke Johnson Band on Sunday.
The Festival Food Court always has the biggest crowds as people line up for a variety of tastes from standard festival treats like BBQ, funnel cakes, corn dogs and fried oreos, to specialty trucks serving flatbread pizza, crab cakes, Amish donuts, and Thai food. This year there will also be food vendors in the beer garden and a second food court on Independence Street to make the crowds easier to navigate and give festivalgoers more options.
The 50th Annual Apple Butter Festival is turning up the volume with a music schedule packed with crowd-pleasing favorites and fresh new sounds. Saturday kicks off with the bluegrass-meets-newgrass energy of The Robert Mabe Band, whose banjo-driven rhythms will get toes tapping and hips swaying. The afternoon heats up with festival headliners The Kelly Bell Band, celebrating 30 years and bringing their award-winning, genre-bending blues to the main stage. Hailed as Baltimore’s top blues act for more than a decade, KBB blends soulful blues with funk, hip-hop, and rock for a sound as big as their personality. Originally formed as the backing band for rock legend Bo Diddley, they’ve since toured the world, from Japan to Spain, and collected music awards along the way. Expect electrifying energy, plenty of audience interaction, and the kind of feel-good groove that turns a concert into a full-blown party.
Sunday begins on a high note with Hymns for Him, delivering uplifting church hymns and heartfelt Southern gospel that’s perfect for a Sunday morning in the mountains. In the afternoon, beloved local legends The Flashbacks keep the celebration rolling with a dance-worthy mix of oldies, classics, and vintage rock ’n’ roll guaranteed to make spirits soar.
Throughout the weekend, festival-goers will also be treated to performances by the talented Berkeley Springs High School Marching Band, the spirited Berkeley Springs High School Dance Team, the mesmerizing family friendly Bellysima Bellydance, the powerhouse of brass Eastern Panhandle Community Band, and the always-fun multi-generational Black Cat Village Band. From first note to final encore, this 50th anniversary soundtrack is the perfect companion to apple butter, autumn air, and fifty years of festival memories.
Family-friendly games draw huge crowds to watch gentlemen strut their faces as their beards are judged for length, softness and style, amateurs calling hogs, rubber ducks racing down the springs that give the town its name, and pairs of contestants tossing raw eggs. Lines form to buy winning entries in the apple baking contest and raffle tickets for the 2025 Apple Butter Festival Quilt.
West Virginia wines, beer and spirits are featured vendors, along with local produce, honey, home preserves and more apple butter. More than 200 new and returning favorite contemporary and traditional artists and craftspeople display and sell their work in the streets, local shops and at the Ice House showing why Berkeley Springs regularly places among the top art destinations in America.
The timing in early October guarantees that technicolor mountain scenery frames the event. With no admission fee and activities for all ages, this is the perfect day or weekend experience for everyone from grandma to the kids. Free parking at the outskirts of town with a shuttle is available, along with modestly priced parking lots downtown run by civic groups.
Nestled in the scenic mountains of West Virginia, Berkeley Springs is the kind of town that feels like it stepped straight out of a Hallmark movie, only better, because it’s real. Visitors have been coming for centuries to enjoy the natural mineral springs that still bubble through the heart of town, long before George Washington first dipped a toe. Today, tree-lined streets invite you to explore art galleries, eclectic boutiques, and quirky shops where every door opens to something unexpected. When it’s time to eat, you’ll find everything from cozy comfort food to a James Beard Award nominee – there truly is something for every taste bud. Whether you’re here for a spa soak, a romantic weekend, or simply to wander and explore, Berkeley Springs pairs small-town charm with big flavor and endless character, making it the perfect backdrop for the 50th Annual Apple Butter Festival.
Located in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, Berkeley Springs is a 90-minute drive and half-tank round trip from Washington or Baltimore and an easy trip from points west and north. For more information call the Berkeley Springs-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce at 304-258-3738, visit berkeleyspringschamber.com/apple-butter-festival or on Facebook: Apple Butter Festival WV
Contact:
Happy Rone – 304-258-3738
More photos available on request — – Director@BerkeleySpringsChamber.com
