Our third annual festival was a great success, with over 220 attendees and over 20 volunteers. The sun peeked through the clouds at times, and the periodic drizzles didn’t dampen our spirits. The festival took place simultaneously at the Environmental Learning Center, the Lower Meadow and the Orchard.
At the ELC we had informative presentations on viticulture, organic pest management, tree pruning and espalier, and apple varieties, old and new. We also had booths featuring Puget Sound Beekeepers Association, City Fruit, pruning, non-toxic pest management, and orchard management, as well as a kids craft area, apple cider pressing, the pie tasting contest, and Tillie’s Cafe, selling baked treats (apple pies featured), hot dogs, coffee and cider.
In the Lower Meadow, people were able to taste orchard apple varieties, operate the mechanical apple press, and enjoy the tunes from our wandering minstrel.
Up at the Orchard, more apple variety tasting took place, and at the end of the festival, Dr. Bob Norton took attendees on a tour, discussing the varieties.
We really want to thank all the volunteers and folks who attended. We encourage you to get involved in our upcoming orchard work parties.
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- A wonderful collection of pies were submitted for the tasting contest.
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- Bob Baines demonstrates tool sharpening for pruning.
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- A dedicated group of volunteers (Dr. Bob Norton, Tracey Bernal and Andrew Christianson) took their pie judging duties very seriously, eventually giving every pie its own special award.
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- Cool Moms helped keep the kids entertained.
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- Kids made cards with stamps cut from apples. Very festive!
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- Don Ricks shared his experience with non-toxic pest management with an appreciative audience.
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- Gail Savina of City Fruit discusses gleaning and offers free fruit preserves to those who sign up.
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- Puget Sound Beekeepers Association discussed maintenance of bee hives.
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- Puget Sound Beekeepers Association brought a hive with live bees (that thankfully couldn’t escape!).
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- Anne Wang helps set up directional banner signs for the festival.
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- Apple varieties from the orchard were available for tasting.
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- Young attendees at the festival helped press cider.
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- Aah, after pressing the apples, the delicious fresh cider finally appears.
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- One of our most effective natural pest management tools is foot socks on the apples.
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- Carkeek Park Naturalist Brian Gay helped ensure the success of our Festival of Fruits.
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- We even had a vintage auto at the festival, but some of the apple trees are older.
Friends of Pipers Orchard 
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