MURPHYSBORO - Faith Welch's eyes grew wide with anticipation.

Two days before the opening of the Murphysboro Apple Festival, the second-grader at Gen. John A. Logan Attendance Center - along with countless other Murphysboro youngsters - were obviously anxious for the rides, games and seemingly endless supply of sugar that make up the annual event.

"I'm like, yes! Yeah!" the 7-year-old Welch said. "With the school year and all the jobs that I have to do at home for five kids (she said she has five siblings) I don't get a lot of time to see my friends."

Welch said she's going to try and ride all the rides this year - including the topsy, turvy Zipper.

Joshua Ferrill's tongue wags with excitement at the thought of sugar, rides, and more sugar. Ferrill, a second-grader at Carruthers School, has been going to the Apple Festival for the past three years.

"It's so fun because they have a tilt-a-whirl," he said.

On the playgrounds and in the classrooms at Murphysboro's elementary schools, all the talk has been of the festival.

"We talk about it and talk about what rides we're going to ride," Welch said.

Carol Bilderback, second grade teacher at Carruthers, doesn't have to be reminded its time for the 54th Apple Festival. She's having a hard time getting her students to focus knowing that come Wednesday they'll have all kinds of activities - distractions - to think about.

"They're like wild, they're just nuts," she said. "They're only going to get worse as the week goes on. Friday they'll be like bonkers."

As Ferrill and classmates LaQuisha Razor and Stephanie Lane talked about the rides, discussions ensued between the three about where to meet up this weekend.

"Maybe you and me can meet at the Tilt-a-Whirl?" Lane said, asking Ferrill.

Ferrill gave the OK, just so long as they could visit the "Titanic" ride as well.

Razor seemed to be focused on the food and tasting the giant "elephant head."

"Josh or Stephanie, have you ever eaten an elephant head?" she said, mistakenly referring to an elephant ear.

Her friends turned up their noses at first, until she explained it further, "It has cinnamon on it."

Then, once again Ferrill and Lane got excited, "Oh yeah, that's really good."

Hannah Baer said she is "1,000 times really excited" about the Apple Festival. She, too, is a fan of the rides, but especially the food. Her friends and fellow Gen. John A. Logan classmates Emily Novara and Trever Jines are fond of the food, too. But Baer said if she were in charge, she'd add something special.

"I would make a giant cotton candy stand," Baer said.

Novara interrupted, "a giant food stand," she said.

But Jines went one further, "a giant taco stand!" he said.

The Apple Festival, most youngsters seem to understand, is more than just about the food and rides - it's a celebration. It's one they said they don't anticipate they'll ever grow tired of.

"I'll never get tired of it," Novara said.

"I'll be 200 years old," Jines added.

kristen.cates@thesouthern.com

618-529-5454 x5804