Apple Scrapple Festival in Delaware

William McCoy, Leaf Group

More than just a catchy name, the Bridgeville Apple-Scrapple Festival is an annual event held each in October in Bridgeville, Delaware, that celebrates two foods that are highly different. Apples provide a snack or the the base for many types of desserts, while scrapple, a fried concoction containing pork scraps and flour, has historic roots in Delaware. The festival itself honors these two foods and provides a wealth of other events and activities.


The Bridgeville, Delaware, community has deep roots connected to both apples and scrapple, which people don't typically consume together, despite the two items' similar names. Many apple farms surround Bridgeville, and apples are one of the region's main agricultural exports. RAPA Scrapple (, which produces a number of styles of scrapple, has called Bridgeville home since 1926.


Bridgeville residents' love of apples and scrapple were intertwined in 1992 when the first Bridgeville Apple-Scrapple Festival took place. That year, 2,500 people attended the festival, and in the years since, the attendance has steadily climbed. In 2012, the festival attracted more than 25,000 visitors. In addition to providing visitors with fun, food and entertainment, the festival's mandate is to raise awareness about the area's agricultural industry.


From the time it opens on Friday afternoon until late on Saturday night, the Bridgeville Apple-Scrapple Festival offers entertainment geared toward people of all ages. Entertainers perform rock, country and other genres of music on the festival's stage, while events including an apple pie baking contest, dance, mayoral scrapple sling and the Little Miss Scrapple Contest take place throughout the two days. A craft show, trade show and car show round out the list of attractions.


The Bridgeville Apple-Scrapple Festival is a community event that involves a number of businesses and groups in and around Bridgeville. In 2012, festival sponsors included the Delaware National Guard, the Town of Bridgeville, Nanticoke Memorial Hospital, RAPA Scrapple, Delaware Electric Coop and many more. Each year, festival organizers seek additional sponsors from the area who exchange funding for extensive publicity.