GLASTONBURY, Conn. — The Glastonbury Apple Harvest & Music Festival is in full swing this weekend.
The Connecticut River Valley Chamber of Commerce anticipates 25,000 people will turn out for the 49-year-old event, made possible by hundreds of volunteers.
Roberta Murphy works the pie booth, but it’s not the only community event for which the 72-year-old peels away her time.
“I’ve been volunteering my whole life,” Murphy said. “Just to know that I’ve helped makes me feel good. Just to know that somebody else is benefiting and maybe getting a smile from it.”
And she’s passing that volunteer spirit to the real apple of her eye - her grandson.
“Knowing that she likes to help people makes me want to as well,” her grandson Phoenix said. “She’s definitely my best friend.”
Together, they’re raising local dollars for the Connecticut River Valley Chamber of Commerce.
“A lot of the money goes back into the town, so it’s wonderful,” Murphy said.
But at its core, the fall festival is about growing connections, something longtime festival volunteers Maureen Kennedy and Brian Moran know firsthand.
“This town really, really has so many great people,” Kennedy said. “We have a lot of fun and we look forward to seeing each other every year.”
They’ve been serving customers at the Harvest Pub for the past decade.
“We have a blast,” Moran said. “We have absolutely a lot of fun. From in the community for so many years, I know a lot of these customers. Year after year they show up, and it's fun watching the families grow.”
In addition to fresh food and drinks from more than two dozen vendors, there’s lots of live entertainment and carnival rides to enjoy.
If you missed the fun Friday and Saturday, the festival resumes Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
And if you want to cheer on local runners, there’s a 5K road race stepping off bright and early at 9:30 a.m.
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Bridgette Bjorlo is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at bbjorlo@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, X, and Instagram.
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