MARS — Cold weather and constant rain didn't stop hundreds of people from making the 2011 Mars Applefest the place to be on Saturday.

Stretching across several streets and bigger than ever, with more than about 100 vendors, the Applefest had snacks for the hungry, games for the skilled and strong, and even karaoke for the, at times, tone-deaf.

Some of the earliest-arriving guests decided to work up an appetite for apples by taking a sledgehammer to a car.

The car bash benefitted the Lighthouse Foundation's Wheels of Work program, which buys old cars and repairs them into working condition for low income families.

For $1 per hit, $2 for three hits or $5 for 10, guests could swing at any part of the vehicle they wanted.

“We spent the first hour on this thing,” said Michael Young.

“We were here at 9:45 a.m., waiting for it. We're here every single year.”

The 17-year-old Mars native, who now lives in Middlesex Township, where he is a volunteer firefighter, estimated he spent more than $60, taking more than 100 swings, within the first hour.

“Most of this event supports local business, which is nice,” he said, adding, “I like the Fords. They're easiest to take apart.”

The barely recognizable 1995 Ford Taurus victimized on Saturday, stripped of fuel, glass and its battery, was worth more as a carnival game than a means of transportation, said Vern Borchert, retired executive director for the Lighthouse.

“Sometimes we get one that, economically, isn't viable to fix,” he said.

Borchert said the hood and roof of the vehicle are players' first targets, then they usually try to knock pieces of the car off. Afterward, the donated vehicle is taken to a junk yard.

“It's worth just as much dented as not,” Borchert said.

Lizzie Dakan, 15, of Mars has been coming to Applefest since she was 7 years old and celebrated the 2011 event more quietly, with a chocolate-and- caramel-covered candied apple.

“I get so excited about (the festival). I like coming out and looking at everything and shopping.”

Julie Lenoir, 16, of Mars said she passed on apples for kettle corn and Chinese food on Saturday.

“(Applefest) is just about seeing everyone. It has a neighborly feel to it,” Lenoir said.

“It's like the one thing in Mars all year that every one gets together for.”

Many of those people get together ahead of time to prepare for the event.

The parishioners of the Old Union Presbyterian Church in Adams Township made more than 560 apple dumplings and pies.

Sherry Cashdollar of Mars, one of those parishioners, said the best dumplings start with the right ingredients: cinnamon, sugar, butter and, of course, apples.

“I want a nice, good-sized apple. It makes for a nicer-sized dumpling,” she said. “I hand-picked the apples (from a grower) in New Wilmington.”

It wasn't just the ladies baking either, as the men arrived early to help skin the apples and roll out the dough.

“We've been doing it for years and years,” Cashdollar said.

The Old Union vendors prided themselves on offering juicy dumplings without the need for extra sauce inside, but said visual appeal is what usually sells the dessert.

Tyler McIntyre of Mars couldn't agree more, but he bought his dumpling from the Mars cheerleaders.

“(Their dumplings) looked the best and they had good coffee,” he said.

On the other hand, Allison McElheny of Mars was looking for other ways to please her palate.

“I'm not much into apples,” she said. “Everything here looks good. It smells delicious. So, we'll see what catches my eye.”

Many guests decided to take on another carnival game, this one offered by first-year vendors, the Mars hockey team.

Dan McCann of Mars coordinated the fundraiser, which challenged players to shoot a puck into a washing machine for a $20 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods, which also supplied the pucks.

“One of the parents from the team donated the washer and the game is, of course, taken from Sidney (Crosby's) basement,” McCann said.

The Penguins star center had a hockey net in his basement and, whenever he would miss, the puck would strike the Crosby family's washing machine.

“Aside from the weather, I think it's been going well,” said McCann, who noted that the washing machine's knobs were among the first targets of shooters.