The Johnny Appleseed Festival is a bit different that other community festivals because all vendors must dress in period clothing, prepare food as it would have been prepared in the 1800s and use only natural materials such as wood, tin, brass, iron, steel, glass, rope and cloth in the construction of their handmade products. For the most part the vendors complied with the restrictions but we did see tennis shoes and some polyester.
The first Johnny Appleseed Festival was held in 1974 with only 20 vendors. It’s grown to become a very popular festival with over 200 vendors and attendance by several 100,000 people so expect crowds. The festival area is large with period camps, entertainment stages and rows of booths strung between them.
Much of the festival is spread out on grassy hills so it’s not very wheelchair accessible. The eastern half takes over the campground (closed during the festival) which has paved roads so that section is accessible. Two stages, the settler’s village, and many vendor’s booths are located in the campground.
Two free parking lots with shuttle service are provided by the festival but the most convenient parking is at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum lot which is just steps away from the festival grounds. Arrive early to get a close up spot. The fee is $5.00 for cars, $15.00 for RVs. Festival
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