The Horticulture Club held the first Apple Festival in 1951. The festival was an annual event for several years. Entertainment consisted of square and round dancing and a faculty skit; refreshments were apple cider and ginger snaps. Sororities and the Independent Students Association nominated women for the post of Apple Queen. The first Apple Queen was Katherine Mason of Chilhowie, Virginia, a member of Sigma Kappa. Entry fee for the queen contest was an apple pie.