Bridgeville’s signature fall festival celebrates apples, scrapple and the agricultural traditions of western Sussex County as hometown producer RAPA marks its centennial.
By George D. Rotsch, Delaware LIVE
BRIDGEVILLE — Apples, scrapple and a century of local food history will come together this week as Bridgeville welcomes thousands of visitors for the 34th annual Apple-Scrapple Festival.
The festival officially opens Friday, Oct. 9, and continues Saturday, Oct. 10, filling downtown Bridgeville with food, carnival rides, music, hundreds of crafters and vendors, contests and some traditions that are difficult to find anywhere else — including a ladies’ skillet toss and an invitational scrapple sling.
This year also brings a milestone particularly appropriate for a festival with “scrapple” in its name: Bridgeville-based RAPA Scrapple is celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Ralph and Paul Adams started the company in Bridgeville in 1926, combining their first names to create RAPA. The company continues to operate from its Bridgeville production facility and says it is the leading-selling scrapple producer in the United States.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, RAPA will hold a special Scrapple Centennial Serving at its gate entrance on Cannon Street. The ticketed event is scheduled to include scrapple smash burgers, scrapple tacos, a scrapple breakfast bake and even scrapple cinnamon buns.
What exactly is scrapple?
For people who didn’t grow up in Delaware, Maryland or southeastern Pennsylvania, the festival’s second namesake may require some explanation.
Scrapple is traditionally made by cooking pork trimmings and other edible parts of the hog, grinding the meat and combining it with broth, cornmeal or buckwheat and seasonings. The mixture is formed into a loaf, chilled, sliced and fried — ideally, devotees will argue, until crisp on the outside while remaining soft inside.
The food’s roots go back much farther than Bridgeville.
Scrapple developed from German pork dishes brought to Pennsylvania by German-speaking settlers commonly known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. The German predecessor, called panhas or by similar names, dates to at least the 16th century. In America, ingredients such as cornmeal were incorporated into the recipe, creating the food that became known as scrapple by the early 1800s.
Like many traditional farm foods, scrapple was born from practicality. Families who butchered a hog wanted to use every edible part rather than waste food. Meat remaining after cuts such as ham, bacon and sausage were prepared could be combined with inexpensive grain to produce another food capable of feeding a family.
The tradition eventually became deeply associated with the Mid-Atlantic, particularly Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland.
Bridgeville makes a festival of it
The Apple-Scrapple Festival itself dates to 1992, when Bridgeville residents began looking for a way to promote their town and western Sussex County’s agricultural industry.
They found their theme almost literally in their backyard.
Apples were grown nearby at T.S. Smith and Sons, a Delaware Century Farm, while RAPA had been producing scrapple in Bridgeville since 1926.
Apples plus scrapple became Apple-Scrapple.
The first festival attracted about 2,500 visitors. Festival organizers say attendance has since grown to more than 20,000, turning the event into a major fundraiser for community organizations and one of western Sussex County’s largest annual celebrations. The festival remains organized largely by volunteers.
The food court reflects both the festival’s agricultural roots and the philosophy that a fall festival should not send anyone home hungry. Offerings include scrapple sandwiches, apple dumplings, pies, barbecue, cheesesteaks, funnel cakes and other festival foods. Organizers say apple dumplings served with ice cream remain among the most popular items.
Then there are the competitions.
Children can compete in the Kids Apple Toss Friday evening. On Saturday, competitors take over the Union Methodist Church lot for the Ladies Skillet Toss before the action returns to the bandstand for the Invitational Scrapple Sling.
Visitors who prefer eating rather than throwing their food can browse craft and vendor areas, visit the Bridgeville Historical Society Museum, attend the St. Mary’s luncheon and quilt display, see the car show or spend the day at the carnival.
Friday is a more limited festival night centered around the carnival, food court, entertainment, Little Miss Apple Scrapple Pageant and street dance. The full complement of crafters and vendors arrives Saturday.
And for anyone still debating the proper way to eat scrapple, there may never be agreement.
Some slice it thick. Others insist it should be thin. Some want it extremely crisp, while others prefer a softer center.
Then comes the most dangerous question of all: syrup, ketchup or apple butter?
In Bridgeville this weekend, there should be plenty of opportunities to conduct your own research.
TO GO
What: 34th annual Bridgeville Apple-Scrapple Festival
Where: Downtown Bridgeville
Main festival: Friday, Oct. 9, 4-10 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 10, 9 a.m.-9:30 p.m.
Admission: Festival activities are generally open to the public. Some individual events or activities may require tickets or fees.
Parking: On Saturday, traffic will be directed to festival parking areas. Free shuttle bus service is available Saturday. Organizers suggest using 7350 Federalsburg Road, Bridgeville, as a GPS reference point for the Red Lot and following traffic-control personnel once approaching town.
Accessibility: Bus service and handicap-accessible accommodations are available.
Restrictions: Pets and unauthorized motor vehicles are not permitted in the festival area.
Information: applescrapple.com
COMPLETE 2026 APPLE-SCRAPPLE SCHEDULE
Friday, Oct. 9
4 p.m. — Bandstand, carnival and food court open
5 p.m. — The Life Center Worship Team, bandstand
5-6 p.m. — Kids Apple Toss registration, bandstand
6 p.m. — Opening ceremony, bandstand
6:15 p.m. — Little Miss Apple Scrapple Pageant, bandstand
7 p.m. — Kids Apple Toss, bandstand
8:30-10 p.m. — Friday Night Street Dance, bandstand
10 p.m. — Bandstand, carnival and food court close
Saturday, Oct. 10
9 a.m. — Festival opens
9-9:30 a.m. — Lifeway Worship, bandstand
10-11:30 a.m. — Star Spangled Sweethearts, bandstand
10 a.m.-3 p.m. — Bridgeville Historical Society Museum open, Williams Street
10 a.m.-3 p.m. — Library Lane open, Williams Street
11 a.m. — RAPA Scrapple Centennial Serving, RAPA gate entrance on Cannon Street
11 a.m.-3 p.m. — St. Mary’s Luncheon and Quilt Display, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Williams Street
Noon-1:30 p.m. — New Direction, bandstand
12:40-12:55 p.m. — Ladies Skillet Toss registration, Union Methodist Church lot
1 p.m. — Ladies Skillet Toss, Union Methodist Church lot
2 p.m. — Health and Safety Fair closes, firehouse
2 p.m. — Car Show closes, Railroad Avenue
2 p.m. — Kids Zone closes, Union Methodist Church lot
2-3 p.m. — Invitational Scrapple Sling, bandstand
3-4 p.m. — Mariano Mallia, bandstand
4 p.m. — Schoolhouse Craft Show closes, Woodbridge Middle School
4:30 p.m. — Senior Center Vendor Show and Trade Show closes, Delaware, Walnut and Laws streets
4:30 p.m. — Invited Guests, Political and Sponsorship Rows close, Williams and South Cannon streets
5-7:30 p.m. — High Noon, bandstand
8-9:30 p.m. — DJ MIX, bandstand
9:30 p.m. — Bandstand, carnival and food court close
Schedule is subject to change. Festival schedule and event information are from the Bridgeville Apple-Scrapple Festival.
Delaware LIVE collaborates with a network of professional journalists to cover a diverse range of stories across various fields. Staff Writers include experienced journalists and young professionals. If you have questions, please feel free to contact [email protected] or our publisher, George D. Rotsch, at [email protected]
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