This year’s Busti Apple Festival is set for Sept. 28 and Sept. 29 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m both days at the Busti Historical Society, 3443 Lawson Road. One of the biggest improvements promised for this year, according to the Busti Historical Society’s Board of Directors’ secretary and grant writer, Joni Blackman, is the increase in the amount of food trucks.

“There will be a lot more food trucks than we have in past years,” Blackman said. “We had a problem with that last year because we ran out of food. There will be more of a variety of food available, like kettle corn, ice cream and many types of sandwiches.”

The Bucket Brigade Pizza truck will also be in attendance, which Blackman said would be fun for the kids as they serve the pizza out of a working fire truck from the 1950s.

Another new thing for this year is the inclusion of WiFi on the Historical Society’s grounds which will allow for vendors to be able to take credit cards. Additionally, Blackman said parking is free as it has been in the past, and this year all activities will be around the building instead of by the road, allowing for the festival to be safer and closer together and on the grass.

The museum has been updated and kids will have the ability to run through areas such as the old post office and school room. The resorted and working 1836 grist mill will be running throughout the festival and the public will be able to go on tours in both the mill and miller’s house.

Flour, corn meal, and buckwheat flour, all ground at the mill, will be available for purchase, along with apples, over 200 pies, cider, apple butter, and items from over 100 vendors selling their own handmade items. Around 10 to 12 demonstrators will be in attendance, showcasing how crafts were done in the 1800s, including showing and teaching how to press cider, make flax to weave linen, create leather items, hew a log for a building, weave a basket and huck weaving, and quilting.

“It’s something different,” Blackman said. “It’s not the same old type of craft fair. All items will be handmade by the vendors and they will be completely unique. There’s a variety of food and the public can see how flour is made. They can learn about the history of the area and it’s a good snapshot of how things were in the 1850s and 1860s in this area.”

Blackman added that in that time period, Busti was a very busy place. She said the apple festival is the Historical Society’s main fundraiser, and pretty much makes their annual budget for the year. The festival is put on by a small group of around 12 people with about 20 volunteers coming to help on the day of. Additionally, Blackman said the festival “helps put Busti on the map” and that the historical society is looking to do more events in the spring, such as an agriculture event about how farming used to be done without tractors.

The Busti Historical Society is always looking for more volunteers, not just for the festival but to help any time of the year with grounds maintenance, museum management, and running the mill. Interested volunteers can call (716) 483-3670, or email bustihistorical@gmail.com.

While it is the 50th annual apple festival this year, Blackman said no big celebrations are planned besides the major improvements made to the property and grounds over the last two years. For the Historical Society, reaching this milestone is huge.

“For such a small society this is huge because it’s a big fundraiser and helps to carry out our mission to preserve our local history,” Blackman said. “I don’t think we could find something else that would bring in this much income for us, and the fact that it is still going 50 years later is wonderful.”