Autumn Crunch & Cozy Traditions: Apple Festival at Peddler's Village

The Apple Festival at Peddler's Village is the kind of fall date that does not need much planning, just a jacket, an appetite, and someone to share a caramel apple with. This year it returns Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., filling the village with cider, apple pie, and the kind of crisp air that makes you want to hold hands on the walk between tents.

A Pennsylvania Couples Tradition Since 1973

Peddler's Village has been celebrating apple season this way since 1973, and the festival still leans on the real thing: fresh apples from Bechdolt's Orchard, turned into cider, apple fritters, and lattice apple pies sold from tents throughout the village. The Village's own restaurants run apple-themed specials from late October through mid-November, so the celebration stretches well past the festival weekend if you time your trip a little differently. Admission and parking are free, and the event goes on rain or shine. We have guests return year-after-year seeking a little romance and candied apples.

Two Forks, One Pie

Sunday afternoon brings a pie eating contest starting at 2 p.m., which is either a fun thing to watch together from the sidelines or a slightly competitive thing to enter, depending on how the morning has gone. Either way, splitting a slice of apple pie, or arguing over the last bite, is part of what makes the day feel like a date. There are lawn games and a mobile escape room scattered around the village too, in case you want an excuse to team up on something before you get back to eating.

Slow Down and Wander Together

Between the food tents, live entertainment runs throughout the weekend, and the village's boutiques stay open later on Saturday, so it is easy to turn an afternoon of cider and pie into a slower evening of window shopping hand in hand once the sun starts to drop. Walk slowly, split a warm apple fritter, and stop wherever something catches your eye.

Make a Romantic Weekend of It

Peddler's Village sits close enough to New Hope that it is easy to fold into a longer weekend. Pair the festival with a stop at one of the region's romantic wineries on the way back, or save room for something sweet at one of New Hope's best dessert spots if apple pie was not enough sugar for one day.

After a day spent among cider tents and caramel apples, head back to The Inn at Bowman's Hill. Between the gardens turning toward winter, a fireplace once the temperature drops, and a quiet room built for two, it is an easy place to land after a day out. Plan ahead and surprise your specials someone with a couples massage or the inn’s ultimate romance package for an unforgettable escape.