NAPPANEE — When Dick Pletcher started what is now known as the Amish Acres Arts and Crafts Festival, he didn’t know it would last 50 years and expand to the size it is today. It began with a handful of artists selling art on a clothesline in downtown Nappanee.

“It all started out of a trunk of a car,” Pletcher said.

From Thursday through Sunday the festival will celebrate 50 years of providing Nappanee and the surrounding areas with a festival that has been named as one of the best of its kind in the country. From taking up just part of downtown Nappanee, the festival now encompasses Amish Acres.

Pletcher, who is also the MC of the festival, credited its popularity to the artists, who sell about $2 million worth of goods in the four days of the festival. It has been named by magazines such as “Sunshine Artist” and “Leisure Group Travel” as one of the best festivals in the country. It has been ranked as one of the top 100 events in North America by the American Bus Association for four years.

But how did it get that way? Pletcher said after a couple of years of running the festival, he decided that it would either have to expand, “do it right,” or close the event altogether. In 1970 the festival moved to Amish Acres, where it has been ever since.

“The festival became the inspiration for Amish Acres,” he said.

This year to commemorate the 50 years, there will be a timeline for every year of the festival with photos of what happened the year that the festival debuted (“I Love Lucy” and “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson also began). Two judges who were part of the festival’s early beginnings, Coy Jankowski and Robert Smoger, will return. Both have won the Best of Show award and were inducted into the festival’s Hall of Fame in 1996.

Despite its continued growth and succeess, Pletcher said the festival has not been unharmed by the economy, which has hurt some business. “The recession has made things more challenging,” he said.

Every year the festival has about 30 new artists. Pletcher said there are 10 artists who have been at the show for 20 years or more. Why do they come back? “They don’t get treated the way they get treated here,” he said.

Pletcher said there might be anywhere from 50,000 to 70,000 people during the four-day festival. What makes the difference, he said, is the weather.

The festival will run from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for seniors (60 and older), active military and students ages 12-17. It is free for children 12 and younger. Parking is also free. For more information on the festival call 773-4188 or go to www.amishacres.com.