LINCOLN -- The theme for the 43rd Annual Arkansas Apple Festival is "Something for Everyone" and that holds true throughout the three-day weekend.

The annual tradition has activities for the family, for children and for adults as Lincoln Square comes alive with music, arts and crafts booths, concessions and thousands of people.

The 43rd Arkansas Apple Festival set for Oct. 5-7 will start at 9 a.m. Friday with the opening of arts and crafts booths. The festival closes at 5 p.m. Sunday.

While the festival pays tribute to the apple industry that once dominated western Washington County, the weekend is designed to provide a fun time for everyone.

Rhonda Hulse, who co-chairs the Festival Committee with Tracy Irwin, said about 127 spots will be filled with arts and crafts booths on Lincoln Square. She said around 100 vendors are participating over the weekend, with some of the vendors coming to Lincoln for the first time.

"We're completely full," Hulse said. "There's not a spot left on the grass."

She's ordered 700 gallons of apple cider to sell and volunteers will give out about 100 bushels of free apple slices during the festival.

The Apple Festival parade will be held 10 a.m. Saturday and Hulse expects it to be one of the festival's best parades. Lincoln High School will celebrate its 2018 Homecoming on Friday night and the school has decided to incorporate its parade into the Apple Festival parade. With this being an election year, the parade also will feature lots of candidates running for office.

Activities for children include an apple-core throwing contest, a Talent Contest and Kids World with inflatables, train rides and pony rides.

Lincoln Pound Pals will once again host a Prettiest Pooch contest and many adults and children last year participated in this event with their family pets.

Adults can browse and shop craft booths or bring a chair to sit, relax and enjoy different genres of music.

Visitors also have their pick of food choices. Festival food this year will include funnel cakes, cornbread and beans, homemade apple dumplings, barbecue, hamburgers, corndogs, apple butter and kettle corn.

With all the activities going on, the focus of the Festival each year still remains on apples. The early revolution of Lincoln is directly related to the growth and success of orchards in the area. Free apple slices and free samples of apple cider given out during the weekend make sure apples remain in the forefront of the Festival.

The Apple Festival brochure describes the importance of apples to Lincoln this way: "It has been said by many that apples made the town."

The festival provides the opportunity for Lincoln to remember its history and keep its history alive.

Perfect fall weather has helped the Festival have record attendance in past years and and committee members hope crisp, fall temperatures will come again this year.

"I think it will be another great festival," Hulse said.