Courthouse Square in Stroudsburg will feature local food and festivities from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday for the first Pocono AppleFest, which culminates with the last day of the year for Monroe Farmers Market's outdoor market.

"This was a banner year for our market," says Brian Bruno, vice president."We've come full circle back into the flow of town where the market began and were able to transform the market into an event that involves the entire community."Bruno says the market is more than just a place where farmers sell food."We're a place where local nonprofits, artists, and musicians can be seen, a place where kids and adults can learn about how to cook food and eat healthier, and a place where neighbors can run into one another and catch up over a cup of coffee and a fresh baked good," says Bruno."We could think of no better way to end this banner year than with the first annual Pocono AppleFest."The festival will take place in Courthouse Square and along adjacent Monroe Street.Children are invited to dress in costume to trick-or-treat at market vendors' booths. Paint will be provided at a pumpkin painting station hosted by Shawnee Inn.There will also be a face painter, balloon animals, farm tractors on display, and old-fashioned apple cider pressing demonstrations by OHF Orchard.Food trucks will be on-hand to serve additional refreshments and snacks. Cooking demonstrations will be conducted by the chefs of Shawnee Inn, while presentations will be held by Pocono Medical Center.A wide range of apple-themed food, beverages and other products will be offered by farmers market vendors.A pet Halloween costume parade will take place at 10:30 a.m. followed by an apple pie bake-off at 11 a.m.Guest judges for the bake-off include market sponsors Rich Berkowitz from the Sherman Theater, Jessica DePete from Free Flow Acupuncture, and Jennifer Peschel from Earthlight Natural Foods.Contest entry and detailed event information is available at monroefarmersmarket.com. Additional questions may be directed to

applefeststroudsburg@gmail.com.