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Dipping an apple into liquid caramel and twirling it a bit to get the sweet coating all around is the easy part.

Plenty of visitors to the Community Orchards annual Apple Fest did just that and ended up with a treat.

One of those, Ty Sabus, 5, visiting from Omaha, not only got a treat, he also discovered that still-arm caramel sticks to your face, clothes and anything else it touches. It also forms long strings when you pull the apple away.

Sabus had arrived with his grandmother, Billie Peacock, of Paton. She was watching the growing accumulation of caramel coating on her grandson, perhaps thinking of years past.

"I brought my kids here," she said, adding that that was about 30 years ago.

Besides the caramel apples, Sabus also enjoyed the giant Plinko game, but drew the line at one of the attractions.

"He got scared in the haunted house," she said.

Attending the annual Apple Fest is for many a family tradition.

This includes Jayme Brown, of Fort Dodge. He was walking around with family members toting on his shoulder a pumpkin whose color matched the bill on his hat perfectly.

His family group Saturday included four generations.

The best part?

"We like the pumpkin patch," he said.

Getting to the patch is easy - the orchard provides several trailers with straw bales for seats pulled by tractors. However, for visitors wanting the most nostalgic trip, waiting for the Pumpkin Cruiser is the way to go.

A converted 1968 International Harvester truck, the vehicle is painted - what else - pumpkin orange.

Steve Baedke was driving it Saturday. As of midafternoon, he estimated that he had made about 25 of the 12-minute round trips so far.

He was enjoying the people and the scenery, but the music playing on the speakers was beginning to fray his nerves a bit. There apparently is a limit to how many times one person can listen to Beethoven's Fur Elise before it makes you crazy.

His other choices were mooing cows and neighing horses.

Once the visitors are in the pumpkin patch, getting out and searching for that one perfect pumpkin can take anywhere from a few seconds to, well, the orchard is closing now.

Landon McMahon, 8, of Fort Dodge had no trouble selecting one. He did have a little trouble carrying it back to be weighed; it turned out that pumpkins are heavy.

Of his selection, "It's just right," he said.

He plans to carve it although he hasn't made up his mind yet between scary and funny.

"It's just going to be a regular pumpkin," he said.

Community Orchards co-owner Greg Baedke explained that the Apple Fest has been an ongoing event for about three decades. He tries to add a new thing or two every year. Most of the events are geared toward younger children, although he does emphasize that there is something for every age group.

Having so many visitors to the orchard requires a bit of extra help, so he drafts any and all friends and relatives he can get to help out.

This is a tradition for them, too.

Apple Fest continues today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Community Orchards is at 2237 160th St., just north of Fort Dodge.

Contact Hans Madsen at (515) 573-2141 or hmadsen@messengernews.net