The Scrapple and Apple Festival Returns to Reading Terminal Market With Exclusive Menu Items, Sculpting Contest & More
The Scrapple and Apple Festival Returns to Reading Terminal Market With Exclusive Menu Items, Sculpting Contest & More
Reading Terminal Market’s Scrapple and Apple Festival will take place Saturday, October 17, 2026, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is free to enter, with food and drink available on a pay-as-you-go basis.
The annual festival celebrates scrapple, a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch breakfast meat historically created as a way to reduce food waste by using every part of the animal. Scrapple has since become one of Pennsylvania’s most recognizable regional foods, particularly throughout Philadelphia and southeastern Pennsylvania. For the festival, market merchants create limited-edition scrapple-inspired dishes, ranging from classic preparations to new recipes, available only on this day.
What to Expect
- Exclusive scrapple and apple menu items available for one day only
- Apples sourced from local Pennsylvania orchards
- Scrapple sculptures
- Local Pennsylvania flavors
- The historic atmosphere of Reading Terminal Market, America’s largest and oldest continuously operating public market
Additional programming includes live entertainment, cooking demonstrations and family-friendly activities throughout the day.
Discounted two-hour parking is available with a $10 market purchase and merchant validation:
- $6 at 11th & Arch St. (Hilton Garden Inn Garage)
- $7 at 12th & Filbert St. (Parkway Garage)
Ahead of the festival, Reading Terminal Market will host its annual Scrapple Sculpting Contest on Thursday, October 15, 2026. The contest is open to artists and sculptors of all skill levels, with no entry fee or purchase required. Contestants must arrive at Reading Terminal Market by 10:30 a.m. and must be 18 or older. The market will supply each contestant with a 5-pound block of scrapple and sculpting tools.
Two winners will be selected: one chosen on the day of the contest by a local sculptor, and a second chosen the following Saturday, after the Scrapple & Apple Festival, based on public vote. The winner will be notified by email and does not need to be present to win.
All contestants will receive a free Scrapple & Apple Festival T-shirt. The winning prize includes a scrapple trophy, a Reading Terminal Market swag bag, and a $100 market gift card.
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