The Appel Farm Arts and Music Festival, is an annual one-day festival held the first Saturday in June at Appel Farm Arts and Music Center located near Elmer, in Salem County, New Jersey, USA. Appel Farm’s signature concert event features a juried crafts fair, a Children’s Village with games and activities, and beer and wine tents. Recently the artists performing have been largely of the adult-alternative genre of music. The festival's draw extends beyond New Jersey, attracting audiences of up to 10,000 from the entire mid-Atlantic region and beyond.HistoryIn 1988, Appel Farm’s Executive Director, Mark Packer, and Sean Timmons, Artistic Director, conceived of a one-day musical event to present acclaimed performers to audiences in a rural corner of New Jersey and to celebrate the 30 year anniversary of the Appel Farm Arts Camp. Both were familiar with other festivals but wanted their endeavor to have its own identity. Ultimately, they created a signature event celebrating the craft of the songwriter and showcasing high quality craft artists and children’s activities.“We focus on great songwriting,” said Timmons in a 2006 interview. “That’s really the thrust of what we’re about. They could be folk, country, rock, Latin, hip-hop, anything – we never feel our hands are tied.”The first festival, held on May 13, 1989 at a site that was formerly a farm, set a precedent, presenting recognized artists alongside local and lesser-known performers. Singer/songwriters Don McLean, Tom Rush, and Livingston Taylor were headliners while The Taproom Band, Elaine Silver, the Pinelands Dulcimer Society and Shirley Keller provided a more regional flavor. Approximately 800 people attended that first festival, which has since grown to draw crowds of upwards of 10,000 while remaining true to the spirit of its founding principles. Over time, the Festival has earned a reputation as the “Woodstock of South Jersey” for its eclectic variety of musicians and its rural setting.