Baby Apple Cheeks competition steals the show at bustling festival

The amphitheater stage at a Salem farm felt familiar to Courtney Juliano on Saturday as the Murrysville native paraded her infant son in front of three judges at the Apple ’n Arts Festival.

Cameron, just 6 months old, didn’t seem upset to go home without a prize in the annual event’s Baby Apple Cheeks contest, which evaluated the merits of plump and rosy young cheeks.

No matter what, he helped bring part of his family’s story full circle.

“When I was 6, 7, 8 years old, I’d play violin on this stage — now, I’ve got my baby up here,” said Juliano, 30, smiling as she nestled her son, clad in a mustard-yellow onesie, close to her chest. “He’s my ‘along for the ride’ guy.”

About 80 children, 3 months to 4 years, registered to take part in the competition, a staple of the popular Westmoreland County event started in 1982.

Thousands waded through thick crowds Saturday at Shield’s Farm. And while vendors hawked everything from moonshine to naturally made dog treats, food of the human variety seemed to draw the longest queues.

At noon, the sun burned bright and the mercury in Delmont lingered in the mid-’70s, according to meteorologists from the National Weather Service in Moon.

Apples, of course, the main attraction

But Dave Love didn’t even appear to break a sweat as he labored over an open-pot fryer, repeatedly plopping apple rings into fresh batter, then guiding them with tongs into the vat of bubbling oil.

“If you don’t hold onto them ’til the batter sizzles, they’ll stick to the bottom,” said Love, 60, of Punxsutawney. “You just kind of listen for that sizzle.”

Love’s been serving this sweet treat in Delmont every year since his son, Mike, cooked up the idea seven or eight years ago. The family-owned business now sells its deep-fried apple rings, which are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with caramel after coming out of the fryer, faster than they can slice them.

On Saturday, Love came equipped with three bushels of locally grown honeycrisps — about 400 apples in all, give or take. But the Loves were far from the only vendors toying with the fruit of the day.

Highlands Honey Farm, which is based in Greensburg, served up jars of apple-pie-flavored creamed honey alongside 12-ounce plastic bottles of garlic honey and espresso honey.

And hot apple dumplings were a menu highlight at the Cold Stone Creamery food truck.

Other foods, drinks popular, too

Others proved they didn’t need apples to attract business. Lines formed early in front of Salem Spirits Moonshine, which offered “Moonshine’ritas” in flavors like watermelon, peach and “prairie fire.”

Another stand, near tents offering carnival staples like funnel cake, fresh lemonade and gyros, filled barrels with old-fashioned soda pop such as birch beer and sarsaparilla.

Lacy Sarnovsky didn’t know how many cinnamon buns she baked fresh for the weekend festival, which drew thousands of people and left a nearly mile-long caravan of cars waiting in stand-still traffic on Route 66. All the Youngstown business owner knew was that her Big Buns Cinnamon Roll Co. had a lot of treats to sell in its second year at the festival.

“I baked and I baked and I baked — and I did not sleep,” said Sarnovsky, 37, laughing while she hovered over a sign that read, “Extra icing is my love language. I baked, basically, until I collapsed.”

Foot traffic was swift at Sarnovsky’s booth, where eager patrons could grab four buns — in flavors from classic vanilla to pumpkin spice to peanut butter — for $16.

More than food: Attractions, too

There was more than enough to do for those without an appetite.

The Delmont New Orleans Style Jazz Band serenaded visitors near the food court and children flocked to a barnyard-style petting zoo. Some children boarded a “Triple A Express” train, while others raced through a straw bale maze. Elsewhere, festival-goers sat on hay bales in the shade as a musician strummed an acoustic guitar.

Those trekking to Delmont for the festival’s second day, which opens with a performance of the national anthem at 11 a.m. Sunday, will find worship services, performing arts groups and more than their fair share of food and arts vendors.

The babies and infants, though, seemed to steal the show — and grab the most cellphone photos — on Saturday.

Paisley Modic, 4, sported a denim dress and brown, cowboy-style boots while watching her competition in the 3- to 4-year-old category. She’s been taking part in the Baby Apple Cheeks event for three years now; she even won third place in her age category in 2022.

“I refuse to put makeup on her,” said her mother, Rachel Modic, 37, of Harmony. “We pick a cute outfit and we roll with it.”

Nearby, Jamie Marullo tinkered with the red headband and accompanying bow her daughter Leighla, 9 months old, wore like a crown. The pair wore matching shirts, with Leighla’s reading “Cutest apple in the orchard.”

It turns out the crownlike bow was fitting: Leighla won first place in the 3- to 11-month category.

Michelle Waibel took in the spectacle and joked that she had her work cut out for her. The hair stylist, who said she regularly cuts Delmont Mayor Alyce Urban’s hair, was tapped as one of three judges for the competition and struggled to establish her chubby-cheek metrics before the first baby took the stage.

“I’m looking for a little personality, a spark,” said Waibel, 53, of Delmont. “And I think you can tell by their eyes.”