The sights of perfectly hand-dipped caramel apples coupled with smells of freshly popped popcorn, apple pie and hot cider return to Conner Prairie when a family favorite store opens for its 32nd season.
The Apple Store at Conner Prairie opens at 11 a.m. Sept. 1 and will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays through Oct. 31. On remaining Symphony on the Prairie performance nights, the store will be open until 9 p.m. During October’s Headless Horseman fall festival, hours will also be extended until 9 p.m. The store will also be open on both Labor Day and Halloween.
Popular products returning this season include hand-dipped caramel apples, gourmet caramel apples, apple cider slushies, fresh popcorn, apple pies, gifts, homemade candy and various treats. Other long-time favorites returning are caramel apples dipped in dark chocolate and dusted with sea salt and Annie’s Apples – fresh-cut apples drizzled with caramel and served in a bowl. Weekly specials and promotions will be offered throughout the season on Facebook.
“Our members work hundreds of ours during the season and we truly enjoy what we do, from dipping caramel apples, interacting with customers and greeting visitors to Conner Prairie,” said Conner Prairie Alliance member Karen Arland, an attorney at Ice Miller. The Alliance is an all-volunteer woman’s group that includes more than 100 members and runs all Apple Store operations. “We are pleased with the level of community support our efforts receive and we are hopeful for another terrific season.”
Last year, the store sold:
- 9,172 frozen apple cider slushies
- 5,671 nutty caramel apples
- 5,431 plain caramel apples
- 5,100 doughnuts
- 1,436 bags of fresh popcorn
More than $100,000 was raised through store sales last year, funds that were used to put a new roof on the museum’s Animal Encounters barn, make improvements to the annual Headless Horseman fall festival and assist operations of Conner Prairie’s agriculture and theater programs.
Since the store’s inception in 1985, more than $1.1 million has been raised through store sales to support Conner Prairie.
Spanning nearly 1,000 wooded acres in central Indiana, Conner Prairie welcomes nearly 400,000 visitors of all ages annually. As Indiana’s first Smithsonian Institute affiliate, Conner Prairie offers various outdoor, historically themed destinations and indoor experiential learning spaces that combine history and art with science, technology, engineering and math to offer an authentic look into history that shapes society today.