If you love fresh Virginia produce or the smell of an apple pie baking in the oven at the holidays, Magnolia United Methodist Church’s AppleFest is the place to be on Oct. 28.

The annual event is back for its 26th year, and the deadline to order is this Friday.

“Our apples are fresh grown here in Virginia,” said Connie Schubert, one of the co-chairs of this year’s event along with Mary Anderson. “Some are actually picked the day before we have AppleFest. You can’t get any fresher product than that.”

AppleFest helps the church support a variety of mission projects both at home and abroad. Locally, the fundraiser supports the Coalition Against Poverty in Suffolk and its Winter Night Stay program, Scout troops, the Genieve Shelter, the food pantry, hurricane relief and others.

“It’s just a day of fellowship from the church members but also an opportunity to get to know the community, both local and surrounding cities,” Schubert said.

Apples are available for sale in various quantities, as well as a variety of other apple products and food cooked by the church.

Schubert said many folks look forward to the event each year. She received one order this year from as far away as Missouri, the residence of a former Suffolkian who will be visiting home during AppleFest.

Schubert said every member of the church helps with AppleFest in some way, and they welcome more help from high school students looking for their required community service hours.

“It’s a good opportunity for high school kids to get their community service hours in by helping with AppleFest, and we have quite a few that do that,” she said.

Seven varieties are available: red delicious, golden delicious, Granny Smith, Rome, Fuji, Winesap and Stayman. The prices are $21 for a peck, $25 for a half-bushel or $39 for a bushel.

Apple cider is also available, at $5 for a half-gallon or $7 for a gallon. Apple butter is for sale at $4.75 a pint. Regular and sugar-free varieties of apple butter are available.

The men of the church will also sell Brunswick stew for $7 per quart. It should also be pre-ordered, but a limited quantity will be available for sale at the event.

Cookbooks, a bake sale and lunch will also be available for purchase, along with a few choice vendors offering an early jump on Christmas shopping.

The church is located at 1764 Wilroy Road. The deadline for ordering is at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 20, and payment must be made at the time of ordering. Apples can be ordered at the church from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. this week.

Call 538-8552 for more information. An order form can be printed at magnoliaumc.net.