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Pioneer Presbyterian Church member Tom Webster, left, stirs a pot of apple butter while fellow church member Ted Gaston, center, dips some out so other volunteers can can it Sunday during the Belpre Lions Club Apple Butter Stir Off at Civitan Park.
(Photo by Evan Bevins)
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Beverly Lopreste, left, and Mark Nutter with Pioneer Presbyterian Church were among the volunteers pouring apple butter into cans Sunday afternoon at the Belpre Lions Club Apple Butter Stir Off in Civitan Park. Sales of the apple butter raise funds for the church and the Belpre Performing Arts Boosters.
(Photo by Evan Bevins)
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Hot apple butter is stirred Sunday during the Belpre Lions Club Apple Butter Stir Off at Civitan Park.
(Photo by Evan Bevins)
Pioneer Presbyterian Church member Tom Webster, left, stirs a pot of apple butter while fellow church member Ted Gaston, center, dips some out so other volunteers can can it Sunday during the Belpre Lions Club Apple Butter Stir Off at Civitan Park.
(Photo by Evan Bevins)
BELPRE — With temperatures in the mid-50s and 60s, the weekend weather was just right for the 44th annual Belpre Lions Club Apple Butter Stir Off in Civitan Park.
“It’s been great weather, perfect for stirring apple butter — just cool enough to make it fun to stand by the fire,” said Maggie Webster, with Pioneer Presbyterian Church.
The church has been bringing and stirring the apple butter for 30 years, taking over from the Belpre Jaycees and Holdren’s Market on Washington Boulevard before them, Webster said.
“I enjoy coming down here and having fellowship with these folks,” said Ted Gaston, a member of the church. “It’s a great project.”
Church members and volunteers are assisted by parents and students with the Belpre Performing Arts Boosters, which supports scholastic band, choir and drama programs.
Beverly Lopreste, left, and Mark Nutter with Pioneer Presbyterian Church were among the volunteers pouring apple butter into cans Sunday afternoon at the Belpre Lions Club Apple Butter Stir Off in Civitan Park. Sales of the apple butter raise funds for the church and the Belpre Performing Arts Boosters.
(Photo by Evan Bevins)
They share in the proceeds for the event, which is a major annual fundraiser for the church.
“I particularly enjoy working with those band kids,” Webster said. “They know how to work as a team.”
About 95 gallons of apple butter was made at the park Saturday and Sunday, and church members worked the previous two weekends to prepare about 150 more gallons so they would have some to sell from the moment the event began Saturday, Webster said.
The apple butter is the centerpiece of the annual two-day event but hardly the only attraction. There were inflatables, live music, crafters and other vendors, alpacas from Alpaca Run Farm and the crowning of young Apple of Your Eye royalty after a two-year pageant hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Businesses and local organizations served a variety of food.
Hot apple butter is stirred Sunday during the Belpre Lions Club Apple Butter Stir Off at Civitan Park.
(Photo by Evan Bevins)
Vicki Boggs, with the Belpre Lions Club, said there was a steady crowd of people Saturday, and a good, albeit smaller, turnout on Sunday.
“I just appreciate everybody cooperating, coming and supporting it,” she said, noting multiple local businesses bought ads in the program and served as sponsors.
Belpre resident Sandy Longgrear didn’t realize the Apple Butter Stir Off was happening this weekend.
But when she and her family members arrived at the park Sunday, they liked what they saw, heard and smelled.
“We just were coming to the river,” Longgrear said. “(Now) we’re going to go get cash.”
“So we can buy some apple butter,” her daughter Abi Ray finished.