CLINTON, Ill. (WAND) - Preparations are underway at the C.H. Moore Homestead Dewitt County Museum for the Apple 'n Pork festival happening Saturday.
Joey Woolridge, director of the C.H. Moore Homestead and Dewitt County Museum, said the board has been working since January to prepare for the festival this weekend.
"It's the final week, we are in the home stretch, you know when it really gets crazy," laughed Woolridge.
The Apple 'n Pork Festival started 51 years ago. Tim Followell, city administrator, recalls those first few festivals with one tent and 30 or so people.
"It's interesting watching it change over the years and watching it blossom," he explained.
The festival started as a fundraiser for the C.H. Moore Homestead Dewitt County Museum. Woolridge said, they had one pot of soup and a stack of sandwiches. Now, the two-day event attracts thousands to Clinton.
"I cannot imagine that anyone dreamed the Apple 'n Pork Festival would have gotten this big and this well-known throughout the state," she said.
Anyone who purchases food on the museum grounds will be funding Clinton not-for-profits. Followell said the agencies make their budget for the year during the two day event.
"If they didn't have the resources they bring back to the community would dwindle, which means the lives they touch wouldn't be touched," he explained.
The festival is Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the C.H. Moore Homestead Dewitt County Museum.
