When I asked Andrew Erbes to imagine a world without the Apple Festival, his mind didn't go to a hypothetical.

It went to the moments when the world suddenly changed.

He remembered that in 2001, just one day after September 11, the Murphysboro Apple Festival still opened. And during the pandemic, when so much of life came to a standstill, our community still found a way to have an impromptu parade.

Because for so many people, it's impossible to imagine a world without the Apple Festival.

As Andrew talked, I realized the festival is more than an event. It's a constant. A happy place that remains, even when the world gets dark.

At the end of that answer, we both teared up. His daughter later looked at us and affectionately called us "a couple of Walnuts."

She wasn't wrong. 🍎