A free, two-day street festival in Bridgeville, Delaware, held every year on the second full weekend in October. It celebrates two things western Sussex County does better than anywhere: apples and scrapple.
Since 1992, volunteers have turned the small town of Bridgeville into one of Delmarva's biggest fall traditions: a food court stacked with scrapple sandwiches and apple dumplings, carnival rides, live music, craft and trade shows, and a few contests you won't find anywhere else (yes, people throw scrapple for distance). The festival opens Friday at 4 p.m. and picks back up Saturday at 9 a.m., running until the last band wraps up that night.
For this year's exact dates, bandstand lineup, and schedule, check the official Apple Scrapple Festival website.
What started as a volunteer idea to promote Bridgeville and its farms now draws visitors from across the Mid-Atlantic.
The name sounds like a joke. It's actually a pretty accurate map of Bridgeville's economy.
If you grew up on Delmarva, skip ahead. If you just moved here, this is the most important food lesson you'll get.
Some are traditional, some are wonderfully strange, and all of them draw a crowd. Times vary each year, so check the official contests page.
The two days feel very different. Friday is a hometown evening; Saturday is the full festival.
Smaller crowds and a more local feel. Street parking is open.
The main event. Streets close, so plan to use the festival lots and shuttle.
On Saturday, DelDOT, fire police, and local officers direct traffic to free parking lots, and GPS apps won't show the temporary street closures, so follow the signs. Accessible parking is available (display your placard), and the festival does not allow pets. See the official directions and parking page for this year's lots.
Start with the obvious: a scrapple sandwich and a warm apple dumpling. After that, the food court has everything from barbecue beef and pork sandwiches to cheeseburgers, hot dogs, apple fritters, and ice cream. Many stands are run by local schools, churches, and nonprofits, so your lunch money goes right back into Bridgeville.
RAPA also runs a scrapple sampling event when the festival opens on Friday. And if you want apples or scrapple after the festival, T.S. Smith's Orchard Point Market is open year-round, and RAPA sells its Original, Hot 'N Spicy, Beef, Bacon, and Turkey varieties in stores across the Mid-Atlantic.
We're based in Georgetown, just down Route 404 from Bridgeville, and western Sussex is home for a lot of our team and clients. Apple Scrapple is exactly the kind of event that makes this area special: neighbors volunteering all year so thousands of visitors can have a great weekend, and local groups raising the money they need to keep going.
That's why we're proud to sponsor the festival's bandstand. If you see us there, come say hi. We're always happy to talk about Bridgeville, Sussex County, or where to find the best apple dumpling.
Plenty of festival visitors leave wondering what it would be like to live here year-round. Bridgeville sits at the crossroads of Route 13 and Route 404, about 40 minutes from the Delaware beaches and within easy reach of Seaford, Georgetown, and Dover. Home prices in western Sussex generally run below coastal towns, and you still get Delaware's low property taxes and no sales tax.
The area includes established neighborhoods near the historic town center, rural homes with acreage, and Heritage Shores, a 55+ age-restricted community with a golf course and clubhouse. Browse homes in Sussex County or read our Sussex County cost of living guide to compare your options.
TPG agents know Bridgeville, Seaford, Georgetown, and the surrounding towns well, from the neighborhoods to the best local orchards. Let's talk about what you're looking for.
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