The 57th Apple Harvest Festival was scheduled for two long weekends on the Town Green, October 2 through 4 and October 9 through 11, 2026. It lost its final day. WFSB reported that organizers first announced a 3 p.m. close on Sunday, Oct. 11, and then closed the festival for the entire day because of incoming weather.
The festival was the shortest part of the season anyway. The orchards that give it its name keep picking for the rest of the month, on fixed schedules with firm end points. As of today, Monday, Oct. 12, Southington has a countable number of pick-your-own days left, and after today every one of them falls on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.
What the Rained-Out Sunday Took, and What It Didn't
The canceled day was a full festival day: the craft show, carnival rides, live entertainment, and apple-themed food on the Green. The two biggest one-time events were scheduled for the previous Sunday. The town set the parade for Sunday, Oct. 4, at 2 p.m., with Oct. 11 as its rain date. The YMCA's Apple Harvest Road Races were registered for Oct. 4 as well.
At the time of WFSB's report, organizers had not released any further details about the closure. The festival's social media page, where organizers shared the closure update, is the place to watch for anything more.
The festival's food and craft booths are gone for the year. The fruit is still on the trees for a few more weekends.
The Days That Are Left
Southington's two pick-your-own orchards keep different schedules. Rogers Orchards runs pick-your-own Friday through Sunday plus holiday Mondays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., through the end of October, weather permitting. Its hours listing specifically includes Columbus Day Mondays, and today is Columbus Day. Karabin Farms runs it on Saturdays and Sundays only, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., weather permitting, and says its season ends with Gold Rush apples in late October.
Mapped onto the 2026 calendar starting today, that leaves:
| Dates | Rogers Orchards | Karabin Farms, Sat–Sun |
|---|---|---|
| Mon., Oct. 12 | Columbus Day Monday | Closed |
| Oct. 16–18 | Fri, Sat, Sun | Sat, Sun |
| Oct. 23–25 | Fri, Sat, Sun | Sat, Sun |
| Oct. 30–31 | Fri, Sat | Sat, if Gold Rush is still picking |
That works out to nine possible days at Rogers, counting today, and no more than five at Karabin. Rain will take some of them, as it took the festival's last Sunday. Karabin's "late October" end date comes from the crop itself, so the final Saturday on the calendar is not guaranteed. Rogers tells visitors to call or check Facebook for rain-day status, and it posts picking updates on Instagram.
Rogers Orchards: Two Farms, One Late Apple
Rogers operates two Southington locations: Sunnymount Farm at 2876 Meriden-Waterbury Turnpike and Shuttle Meadow Farm at 336 Long Bottom Road. Both farm stores are listed as open daily.
The farm's 2026 picking chart follows the season by variety. Home Farm picked McIntosh, Honeycrisp, Gala, and Jonamac at the beginning of September, followed by Empire, Macoun, and Cortland in mid-September and Pink Lady and Red Delicious in early October. Sunnymount's early-October list was Evercrisp, Cameo, and Golden Delicious. For the middle of October, both farms list one apple: Evercrisp.
Varieties listed for September or early October may already be picked over, which is why the farm points to its Instagram for current conditions.
The farm store doesn't depend on picking weather. Rogers sells fresh apple cider donuts, apple-fritter donuts on weekends, and its own hard cider, and its homepage calls the cider donuts a year-round favorite. Store hours are listed differently on two Rogers pages. The pick-your-own page says 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the farm-visit page says 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. If you're planning a late-afternoon stop, a quick call settles it.
Karabin Farms: Buy the Bag First
Karabin grows all of its apples, heirloom and new, on dwarf trees it describes as kid friendly, and it invites visitors to taste before they pick. Its picking works like this:
- You can enter the orchard only with a pre-purchased Karabin bag.
- Bags are sold at the outside register or inside the store.
- A 1 peck bag, about 12 pounds, costs $22. A half-bushel bag, 20 to 25 pounds, costs $42.
- Picked apples can go only into Karabin's own bags.
At those prices, the half bushel holds about twice as much fruit for less than twice the price of the peck.
Karabin's variety list runs from Zestar through Ruby Rush, Jonaprince, Amarilla Soul, and Cox's Orange Pippin. The farm's page doesn't say which of those are on the trees this week. It does say the season ends with Gold Rush, the late apple everything else here builds toward.
Why This Year's Late Fruit Is Worth the Drive Across Town
The leftover weekends are worth more this year because the crop came in well. On Sept. 24, CT Insider reported that Evan Lentz, an assistant extension educator with UConn Extension, called 2026 a largely positive year for Connecticut fruit growers, with less frost damage than in 2023. The same article reported that Hidden Gem Orchard in Southbury came through a 22-degree April night without serious frost loss and grew its largest crop to date.
The season had problems too. CT Insider noted heavy rain at some orchards, and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station received apple-disease questions about rust and Marssonina blotch. Those are statewide reports, not findings for any Southington farm. Together they describe a year shaped by too much rain, not a spring frost that cut the crop.
Building the Rest of a Southington Saturday
The weekend of Oct. 16 to 18 is the busiest of the remaining stretch, and the events around town happen to stack up the same weekend the orchards are open.
On Saturday, Oct. 17, the Southington Lions Club presents The Billy Joel and Elton John Experience at Joseph A. DePaolo Middle School, 385 Pleasant St. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show starts at 6 p.m. A morning at either orchard fits easily before it.
On Sunday, Oct. 18, Southington Recreation hosts Halloween in the Village of Plantsville, with free treats and activities. Its rain date is Oct. 25, which is also a picking Sunday at both farms, so a washout on the 18th shifts the event onto another orchard weekend.
For coffee on the way out, there's a newer option downtown. New England Coffee Guy moved its café from West Hartford to Factory Square, 168 Center St. Patch reported a soft opening on Sept. 12 and 13 with a limited menu of $5 espresso drinks, lattes, cappuccinos, and flat whites. After that first weekend, the business posted, "Weekend 1 vibes were high," and thanked customers from West Hartford and Cheshire. In mid-September the café was still finishing its Wi-Fi, installations, and menu and was running limited hours, so it's worth checking its current schedule before you go.
The following Saturday, Oct. 24, Ready Set Press at 51 N. Main St. holds a three-hour BYOB Sip & Tip Workshop starting at 5 p.m., where participants make reusable press-on nails. That same day is one of the last guaranteed picking Saturdays at both orchards.
After Oct. 31, the pick-your-own calendar on both farms' own pages runs out. Neither orchard has published November hours, so the Rogers farm store and its cider donuts are the only part of Southington's apple season with a reason to expect visits past Halloween, and even that is worth confirming by phone.
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