Thousands of visitors came to Colasanti’s Tropical Gardens in Ruthven, Ontario, on September 26 and 27 for the 47th annual Ruthven Apple Festival. The weekend brought together a farmers market, craft and food vendors, local music, and an apple-peeling contest. It also continued a decades-long fundraiser for Community Living Essex County (CLEC), whose work supports people with intellectual disabilities and their families across Essex County.
A weekend built by local hands
Saturday opened with a ceremony, then the vendors’ alley and farmers market began, according to a September 30 recap in the Southpoint Sun. The festival’s own page had advertised more than 115 craft vendors, 17 food vendors, live entertainment, and local produce, with a car show scheduled for Sunday. The independent recap confirmed the market and live music were part of the weekend, and reported that thousands attended.
One of Saturday’s contests gave the event a distinctly local note. Community Living Essex County chair Chad Sutherland won the longest-apple-peel contest against local political figures. The result was a light moment in a festival whose larger purpose is serious and practical: proceeds help support the organization’s programs and services.
At the farmers market, Gemma Bianchi replenished a display of Bartlett pears. Bianchi has volunteered with the festival for 15 years, and the produce on that display had been donated by local farmers, the newspaper reported. That is one visible piece of the preparation behind a weekend that draws visitors to shop, listen to musicians, and spend time at the grounds.
The Southpoint Sun identified Beth Horvath and Mandy Snively as volunteers at the New Day booth, describing New Day as a self-advocacy committee of CLEC. The organization says the group brings together people with intellectual disabilities who receive its support.
A tradition with a purpose
New Day members work together and independently to raise awareness about what it means to live with a disability, according to CLEC. The group says its activities include workshops, conferences and retreats, monthly meetings, developing public-speaking skills, discussing media issues and fundraising, and working with agencies to make information easier to understand.
The group frames that work around members’ rights. CLEC says members developed a Bill of Rights that sets out the right to be safe, heard and treated with respect; to privacy, relationships and citizenship; to make decisions, say no, choose how to spend the day, and have goals. CLEC describes New Day’s mission as teaching others about rights, duties and self-advocacy. Its mission statement says members share their abilities to help others believe in themselves and remain open to new possibilities.
The festival began in 1979, when volunteers from Ruthven started a farmers market and the Apple Festival, according to CLEC’s history. The organization says the event has continued each year at the end of September. The 47th edition’s familiar ingredients—produce, vendors, music, and volunteers—link this year’s crowd to that locally organized beginning.
The festival’s organizers say it has raised more than $1 million to date for Community Living Essex County. The Southpoint Sun reported that proceeds help pay for programs serving more than 700 clients across Essex County. Those figures describe the event’s cumulative support and the organization’s reach; they are not a reported total raised during the 2026 weekend.
CLEC traces its roots to families who began organizing in 1958 so their children could have a local school and remain part of community life. The association incorporated in 1961. Its history describes the first school as one teacher, four students and a borrowed station wagon. Today, CLEC describes its work as family-directed support for people of all ages with intellectual disabilities. In its historical account of the Apple Festival, it says proceeds have helped purchase and maintain accessible vehicles.
The festival record also holds details that are personal and practical: a volunteer with 15 years of service at the produce table, Bartlett pears donated by local farmers, and Beth Horvath and Mandy Snively volunteering at the New Day booth, as the Southpoint Sun reported. Its recap places those details alongside the contests, music and farmers market.
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