The AppleJack Festival in Nebraska City takes place each year on the third weekend of September. Celebrating the Nebraska apple harvest, the annual festival features a parade, the Miss AppleJack Pageant, the Jam Fest, air shows, antique car shows, arts and crafts exhibits, handmade quilts, a pie baking contest and much more.
One popular event is the Go Kart Street Race, boasting more than 150 entrants from surrounding states. Other events fill the weekend … living history demonstrations, book sales, barbeques, dances, marching bands, clowns, face painting, petting zoos, fun run, strongman contest … there’s something going on in every corner of Nebraska City and something sure to suit every member of the family.
The weekend long AppleJack Festival has been named one the top ten autumn events by the Society of Travel Writers and with good reason. Folks from all over the country flock to Nebraska City each year for this wholesome, fun-filled weekend celebrating the local apple harvest. And, local orchards take this opportunity to open their doors to the public and showcase their wares, including cider, wine, pies and other baked goods and, of course, tree ripened apples.
Nebraska City is located in Otoe County in the southeast corner of Nebraska. As of the 2000 census, the population was just over 7000. In addition to the annual AppleJack Festival, the city is also known as the home of Arbor Day, the original site of Old Fort Kearny, and the famous Mayhew Cabin, the state’s only site on the National Park Service Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program. Incorporated in 1855, early exploration of the town was reported as early as 1804 by Lewis and Clark as they ventured west across the Missouri River. The town’s background and rich heritage is evident in the more than 300 historic sites and buildings. |
