BRUNSWICK, Ohio — On 120 acres in Brunswick, you’ll find breathtaking views and endless things to do.
Best known for its apples, Mapleside Farms helps launch its fall festival season every year with the Johnny Appleseed Festival. This year is the 50th anniversary.
To celebrate Greg Clement, the owner of the farm brought in Joey Chestnut, who is widely regarded as the world’s fastest eater, to take on teams of three in an apple cider donut eating competition. To no surprise, Chestnut won the competition and ate 69 donuts in just five minutes. It was a nostalgic moment for those who’ve been coming to the farm for years. Ten years ago, he came and ate 13.4 pounds of apple pies in eight minutes, which set a world record.
“It's just such a beautiful farm, and it's just a great time,” Chestnut said. “It's just families and happy people. And it's great to come back after 10 years and get to eat here and put on a show for these people again.”
At the Golden Anniversary of the Johnny Appleseed Festival, they don’t only celebrate the delicious fruit, but the man who helped put it on the map, Johnny Appleseed himself.
“As the legend goes he roamed the Midwest as sort of this nomad just planting a bunch of apple trees,” said Greg Clement, the owner of Mapleside Farms.
Clement has been the owner of the Mapleside Farms since 2010. Every year he tries to add new activities. Right now, a 311-foot super slide, multiple corn mazes, scenic hayrides, pig races and more give everyone something to enjoy.
For the Corrao family, Mapleside is a tradition going 20-plus years strong. Stephanie Corrao came to Mapleside as a kid with her parents. She now brings her family of seven.
“We love going on the big slide and the giant moon pillows and we love the corn maze,” Corrao said. “For years and years to come, we will come here.”
And for the Myers family, this fall is the start of something special as they just moved to Ohio from West Virginia.
“Just enjoying the whole atmosphere of it, you know, grew up in West Virginia so I'm used to the farm life and I’d like to get my daughter used to it as well,” said Patrick Myers, a resident of Eastlake. “This farm compared to the other farms we've been on is definitely one of the best ones we've been to.”
Whether it’s a new tradition or old Clement said it’s all about creating memories, many of which he hopes will last a lifetime.
“I think the best part about life is when we're experiencing the world with people we love,” Clement said. “And so that's what we try to give back to the community is these really cool, deep experiences for their, you know, for their friends and loved ones.”
To check out more themed weekends and festivals at Mapleside Farms, visit here.