Manton Apple Festival

Thanks for hanging in there with us.  We look forward to seeing you all back here in Manton this October.

From its humble beginnings as a small "apple harvest" fair in 1992, the Manton Apple Festival has grown into one of Northern California's premier craft and art events. We pride ourselves in providing a venue for high quality, artisan created art, crafts, and food products.

Of course, we can't forget the apples.  Apple themed products, locally grown apples, apple pies, (whole and by the slice), are available.

Live entertainment, apple pie baking and eating contests, and various family entertainment events occur throughout the day.

Plenty of free parking is just a short walk away.

Schedule of Events:

9:15-10:15 - The B-Strings and Mom

10:30-11:30 - The Mountain Messengers

11:45-12:45 - Jacob Akana Band

1:00-2:00 - CSOTFA District 6 Fiddles

2:15-3:30 - Patti Lynn and Company

The B-Strings and Mom
The B-Strings are a local family band from Redding, CA. There are 6 members: Gracie who is 18, Lucie who is 16, Bo who is 12, Marah who is 11 and Jack who is 10 and Kristine, the mom. The band started up in 2022, when a friend asked them to play for their family reunion.  Since then, they play about once a month for different events.  All the children play the fiddle/violin, play for different orchestras/bands in Shasta County and play in fiddle contests.

The Mountain Messengers
The Mountain Messengers is a five-piece acoustic band from the far north of California consisting of Gracie Benham (fiddle and vocals), Don Palmer (banjo and vocals) Lloyd Raeg (guitar, vocals and upright double bass), Tom Spence (mandolin and upright double bass), and George Fredson (guitar and vocals). Their playlist consists of mainly Americana/Traditional Music - from Bluegrass, to Jazz, Old Time Fiddle and more.

Jacob Akana Band
Jacob is a Musician, Composer and Producer

Jacob Akana is a Musician and Producer from Northern California. He was first introduced to music in the 4th grade where he learned to play violin from Sheri Eby. Akana began performing live at the age of 10 with the California State Old Time Fiddlers Association (C.S.O.T.F.A) at open mics and small concerts around his home town. In the years following, Akana would teach himself to play guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, piano and ukulele, in addition to learning how to setup and run live sound, from his longtime friend, fellow musician and mentor, Tom Spence. Akana went on to become a 5x State Flatpicking Champion and a 3x Western Open Flatpicking Champion. He is now the President of Dist. 6 of the C.S.O.T.F.A and continues to judge Fiddle and Flatpick contests across the state.

While performing in his high school jazz ensemble, he met Emily Stolz (Sax), Rob Trent (Drums) and Caden Potter (Keys) where they formed the band Major 7th, and performed across Northern California. Eventually, Danny Lindberg (Bass) and Brandon Mendez (Guitar) joined the group as well.

CSOTFA District 6 Fidlers

The California State Old Time Fiddlers perform lots of Old Time Fiddle music. The members and board members performing are, Pat Scott, George Fredson,Tom Spence, Don Palmer, Gracie Benham, Luci Benham and Kristine Benham.

Patti Lynn and Company

Patti grew up in Sonoma County, She and her husband moved to Manton 16 years ago. Patti grew up in a family of musicians and started singing at the age of five and playing guitar at nine.  "She contributes her talent of singing to her Mother who sang for the San Francisco Opera." At thirteen, Patti and her brother started their first band. In her late teens and twenties, they opened shows for several top country entertainers in the Bay Area. She put her singing career and love of music on hold as her love of family and work was more important at that time. With children grown and grandchildren born, Patti is now playing music and singing for the joy it brings to her and her listeners.