Community Orchard Cider Fest: Sustainable Event #2



Bobbing for apples(photo by Zilia Estrada)



It was a beautiful, nearly warm day in the Community Orchard on Saturday, and loads of folks came together to press and enjoy fresh apple cider made with local apples, eat baked goods made with local fruit, and hear and create (wassail!) music.  It was pretty amazing, especially considering that the first meeting to plan the event was 2.5 weeks prior...It came together organically, with community members volunteering to take on everything needed to make the event a success. 



Pressing the cider! (photo by Zilia Estrada)



As is common for all Orchard events, we used no disposable plates or glasses, and all waste was composted, recycled, or washed and reused.   We asked people to "BYOMugs," and also supplied many reusable mugs for the event.  The bakers used local fruit in their goodies, the apples were grown on two local orchards, and we composted all the apple pulp left from the pressing.  There is no electricity at the Orchard, so the apple press was a hand-crank (very fun!) and the musicians were acoustic. 



Face (and arm) painting (photo by Zilia Estrada)



We had so many folks (more than 100) that we ran out of cider and food before 4 pm- and people were still coming!  I loved to see so many people I don't know out in the commons that we've worked so hard to create, and to see so many kids especially!  I can't wait until we're drinking cider from these very trees.  Next year, we'll have twice as much food and 20 bushels of apples to press!  I'd love to get feedback, too, from those of you who where there.  Thanks for coming!!!