At 10 a.m. the Friday before the festival, Crabapple Road closed to through traffic, and it stayed closed until late Saturday night. Heritage Walk picked up the detour, so drivers shared a street with pedestrians who were crossing it on their way to something.
What they were crossing toward was new. Crabapple Fest ran Saturday, October 3, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and for the first time the City of Milton set up a temporary stage on the southeastern part of Crabapple Road, nearer the Heritage Walk and Crabapple Chase Drive roundabout. A festival that has drawn upwards of 30,000 people in past years had a destination at one end of its footprint.
The Festival Had Two Ends
The footprint ran along Crabapple Road from the roundabout at Heritage Walk to the intersection of Birmingham Highway and Broadwell Road. Shuttles from the free parking lots dropped off at the Alpharetta Government Center, at Broadwell and Crabapple roads, which was the Broadwell end. The new stage sat at the opposite end.
That was a different shape from last year, when the city's music lineup included performances on the front porch of Crabapple Dentistry. A stage at the far end of the footprint gave the walk from the shuttle a destination beyond the last vendor tent.
The three acts scheduled for the stage were:
| Act | Time |
|---|---|
| The Hits Squad | 10 a.m. to noon |
| Pick-up Line | 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. |
| Audio Vault | 3 to 5 p.m. |
The city's announcement confirmed The Hits Squad's morning set, and the afternoon times came from a summary of the same release. The city's Crabapple Fest page was worth checking before festival day.
The Saturday Route Ended at the Music
Parking was free at four lots along Birmingham Highway, and the shuttle ran all day, roughly every 20 minutes from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The route from arrival to the stage went like this:
- Visitors parked at Milton Community Church (12760 Birmingham Highway), Crabapple Crossing Elementary (12775), Northwestern Middle (12805), or Milton High (13025).
- They rode the shuttle to the Alpharetta Government Center at Broadwell and Crabapple roads.
- They walked Crabapple Road through the 100-plus vendors. Food trucks were set up in two hubs, and the Children's Entrepreneur Market sat behind the Green at Crabapple Market.
- For families with children, the KidZone in the open space behind the Green had three carnival rides, two obstacle courses, a toddler playland, and a bounce-and-slide inflatable. The Milton Montessori School sponsored it.
- Visitors finished at the stage near the roundabout, then decided where dinner would happen.
Two practical details. There is no ATM on site, though many vendors take cards, Venmo, Zelle, or cash. And Milton High was also an SAT test site that Saturday morning, which the city flagged as one more reason to plot your route before you left the house. Handicapped parking is behind the Goddard School at 12665 Crabapple Road.
Heritage Walk Carried the Detour, the Band, and the Dinner Reservations
The street that absorbed the closure is the same street where much of downtown Crabapple's dining sits. Market District Crabapple runs along the eastern side of Heritage Walk and includes Starbucks, Aberdeen by Birmingham, Suite 200, and La Mer, along with Hyde Brewing at 3300 Heritage Walk. Hyde is Milton's first brewpub. It was opened in early 2024 by Josh Rachel and Mikka Orrick with Thiago Depaula, who also runs Ceviche Taqueria.
Crabapple Market's dining page lists B&B Tavern Crabapple, which has skee-ball and arcade games and a kids' menu, along with Spiced Right Barbecue and Six Bridges Brewing, which is listed as expanding to Crabapple Market. Lily Sushi Bar is at 1865 Heritage Walk. Resto L'Antoinette sits at 1935 Heritage Walk, with parking in an adjacent garage. It opened in December 2023 in the space that had housed Lagarde American Eatery, from Leonardo Moura and Chef Jamie Adams, the team behind il Giallo Osteria & Bar and G's Pizza.
Anyone who drove to a Heritage Walk table on Friday evening or Saturday needed to plan the route in advance, because the city's own advice was to expect increased traffic even where their path was not blocked. Broadwell Road toward Rucker Road and Birmingham Highway toward Dorris and New Providence roads were the other options the city named.
Milton's Cuisine & Cocktails sits in Crabapple's Historic District, in a restored 150-year-old farmhouse and a 1930s cottage. Its outdoor deck is open Thursday through Sunday, weather permitting, through October, and moves to the bar from November through March. That gave the post-festival hour on Saturday a table with a porch to sit on before the season ends.
A New Lawn at the East End of Market District
Any post-festival plan on Heritage Walk now has another stop. On August 6, the City announced a new outdoor community space at the eastern end of Market District Crabapple, across from Hyde Brewing. It opened that week with the All Nashville Roadshow, the country-music concert that had made its Milton debut in the same location the previous summer.
The city's announcement did not list fall dates for the space. It pointed readers to Market District Crabapple's Instagram page for what was coming and for updates on future events there.
The Broadwell End Gets Its Turn on October 24
The festival's arrival end, at Broadwell and Crabapple roads, gets a second event three weeks later. Carvin' in Crabapple takes place Saturday, October 24, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Broadwell Pavilion, 12615 Broadwell Road. The city's crew brings the carving and painting tools, and attendees bring their own pumpkin. The Milton Police Department hosts a trunk-or-treat across the street, and there is a costume contest along with crafts, games, face painting, food trucks, and inflatables. Admission is free. About 1,500 people attended the 2024 edition.
Broadwell Pavilion is on Broadwell Road, the same road where Crabapple Fest's shuttle riders are dropped at the Alpharetta Government Center. The end of the street that handles the festival's arrivals hosts the smaller event on the 24th.
The Quieter Stop on Dinsmore Road
Milton City Park and Preserve is at 1785 Dinsmore Road. The 137-acre former Milton Country Club property, 130 acres of which are set aside for passive use, reopened its trail in 2026 after closing in mid-November 2025 for construction. The expansion added 1.5 miles of trail, a pier, and boardwalks, funded through a Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program grant along with federal American Rescue Plan Act money and the special transportation sales tax.
The surface is gravel, shade is limited, and dogs must be leashed. The city's Fall/Winter 2026-2027 Parks and Activities Guide is also out and covers the rest of the season's programming.
Planning a visit to Crabapple with guests in town? Curated by Candis is glad to share local recommendations for the day, and when your plans turn to your own home, Schedule a Private Consultation.
