Was the Georgia Apple Festival cancelled? What the record shows for 2026, and what is next

Why people are asking

The festival’s first weekend came as Hurricane Isaias approached. On Oct. 8, 2026, FOX 5 Atlanta published a list of Georgia event cancellations and changes ahead of the storm, and it updated the list on Oct. 9. 11Alive ran a similar list on Oct. 8. With other events being called off, “is the apple festival cancelled” became a natural search, and it is one the festival’s own pages do not answer directly.

This page sets out what each source said, with its date, in the order it was published, ending with the Chamber’s own statement about the first Saturday.

What was scheduled for 2026

The organizer’s FAQ gives the 2026 dates as Oct. 10-11 and Oct. 17-18, and the Gilmer Chamber billed the event as the 55th annual Georgia Apple Festival on its festival page. The Chamber’s Know Before You Go guide lists the four days: Saturday, Oct. 10 and Saturday, Oct. 17 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 11 and Sunday, Oct. 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The festival is held at the Ellijay Lions Club Fairgrounds, 1729 South Main Street, Ellijay.

What FOX 5 reported on Oct. 9

In its Oct. 9 update, FOX 5 Atlanta reported that the Georgia Apple Festival remained scheduled for both weekends. Organizers told the station they planned to go ahead rain or shine but might adjust operations if conditions became unsafe. The same report said Gilmer County Schools had canceled all Saturday school activities. 11Alive’s Oct. 8 list also showed the festival as still on.

Read it for what it is: a plan, reported the day before the first weekend, with a stated condition attached. The Chamber’s later statement, below, says what happened on Oct. 10.

What the 5K race page says

The Apple Festival 5K is a separate event, and its race organizer wrote about Oct. 10 too. Its registration page says the City of Ellijay mandated that all events be canceled or postponed for Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, and that the race was rescheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17, at the same location and time. The 2026 race was the 50th annual, held on McCutchen Street in Ellijay.

The Gilmer Chamber’s calendar still lists the race on Oct. 10, so the two pages disagree. We follow the race organizer’s own page for the race date. See our Apple Festival 5K page for the race details.

What the Chamber says about Saturday, Oct. 10

The Gilmer County Chamber, which presents the festival with the Ellijay Lions Club, settles it on its fall in Ellijay page: the Georgia Apple Festival and the Apple Arts Festival were canceled for Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, and events continued on Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. We read that page on Oct. 19, 2026. The festival’s own site and the Chamber’s parking page carry no separate notice.

• The Gilmer County Chamber says the Georgia Apple Festival and the Apple Arts Festival were canceled for Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, and continued on Sunday, Oct. 11. Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce, Fall in Ellijay page

For a ticket question about the canceled Saturday, ask the source rather than us. The festival’s contact page sends general questions to the Gilmer Chamber at (706) 635-7400 or info@gilmerchamber.com.

What the ticket rules say about weather

The organizer’s FAQ calls the Georgia Apple Festival a rain-or-shine event. The festival’s 2026 SimpleTix ticket page says the same and adds that all sales are final. Online sales for 2026 have ended. Tickets are always available at the gate, according to the organizer’s home page, and admission is $10 per person, with children 12 and under free per the FAQ. Our tickets and admission page has the full rules.

Under the festival’s own rules, rain alone is not a reason to call off a festival day. An order from the city is a different matter, and that is what the race page describes for Oct. 10, the day the Chamber says both festivals were canceled.

Is there a 2027 festival?

As of Oct. 19, 2026, the organizer had not announced dates for the 2027 Georgia Apple Festival, and we found no 2027 entry on the Chamber’s calendar. The organizer’s standing rule is that the festival is held on the second and third weekends in October. Oct. 1, 2027 is a Friday, so by that rule the expected weekends are Oct. 9-10 and Oct. 16-17, 2027. Treat them as expected, not confirmed, until the organizer posts them.

The Apple Arts Festival has no 2027 dates posted either. The Chamber says it runs on the same second and third weekends as the main festival. Vendors can plan around the FAQ’s standing calendar: applications open in January, are due by March 31 for the first round of jurying, and vendors are notified starting in May.

Check the organizer’s site and the Gilmer Chamber for the announcement. Our 2027 page tracks it and will change from expected to confirmed only when the organizer does.

What the 2026 festival looked like

The Chamber says the 2026 festival had over 250 vendors offering handmade arts and crafts, along with live music, on-site demonstrations and food. Older descriptions give a higher count: the City of Ellijay’s 2023 page said over 300 vendors and exhibitions, and the New Georgia Encyclopedia says more than 300. For a sense of scale, FOX 5 reported in October 2025 that about 22,000 people attended the first 2025 weekend, citing city leaders.

The organizer’s 2026 vendor list included a Demonstrations and Attractions section with a petting zoo and pony rides, a kids train ride, a kids zone, on-site blacksmith forging, chair caning and chainsaw carving. Food vendors sold sweet and savory fried pies, kettle corn, funnel cakes, hot apple cider, apple dumplings, caramel and candy apples, and turkey legs. The organizer notes that the list is subject to change. Our vendor finder sorts the 2026 list by category.

Downtown, the free Apple Arts Festival was scheduled for the same weekends, in the parking area behind the Downtown Ellijay Welcome Center at 10 Broad Street. The Chamber says it has more than 65 vendors, and its 2026 announcement listed hours of 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

• The Gilmer Chamber says the 2026 festival had over 250 vendors offering handmade arts and crafts, along with live music, on-site demonstrations and food. Gilmer County Chamber, Georgia Apple Festival
• The 2026 vendor list has a Demonstrations and Attractions section listing a petting zoo and pony rides, a kids train ride, a kids zone, on-site blacksmith forging, chair caning and chainsaw carving. Georgia Apple Festival (official site), Vendor List (2026 Vendor List PDF)
• The Apple Arts Festival has more than 65 vendors selling handcrafted, artistic and specialty goods in a small, curated setting. Vendor submissions are juried, and buy-sell items are not permitted. Gilmer County Chamber, Apple Arts Festival: Vendors

Questions

Written by the Ellijay Apple Festival Guide Editorial Team. AI tools help us draft; people check every fact before it publishes.

Dates, rules and hours can change. The organizers have the final word: Georgia Apple Festival (official site)