This weekend marked the 48th Anniversary of the LaFayette Apple Festival.

After the festival was canceled last year due to COVID-19, volunteers say they are excited to be back. 

But what’s an apple festival without Apple fritters? 

The pandemic continues to change festival plans. The event was canceled all together last year. Now a supply shortage is causing some hiccups for the apple fritter making process.

“We haven’t changed the batter in many years, and actually our distributor was no longer able to get it for us," organizer Thomas Scofield with St. Joseph’s Church said. "See, we did change this year, the first time we had eggs in the batter. It’s minor, but it is something that we’re concerned with because we couldn’t get it,and COVID is really causing it, you know, a major problem across the board with supply.”

The apple fritter making process requires an assembly line of about 30 to 40 people. But that’s just not something Scofield has on hand.

“We haven’t been able to generate 30-40 people on a regular basis for anything because people are scared to go do stuff,” Scofield said. “So this was a test. It’s great. It’s great to see people out of their houses, people are smiling.”

The fritters are a big hit every year, with people lined up out the door just to have a taste. The roads are always welcome.

“Everybody depends on the Apple Festival because it’s a small town,” volunteer Nancy Mueller said. “And if you just try to sell wrapping paper to each other back and forth, you’re really passing the same money around town as opposed to when you know you have an event like this, it brings people in from all over Central New York and it’s really huge for this small community.”

St. Joseph’s Church makes about $30,000 from their apple fritters and apple pies. And for a second year, St. Joseph’s Church will be using some of their proceeds to support Joseph’s House.

Spectrum News sponsored this year’s festival.