Celebrate apples and other delicious tree fruit this October with MOFGA! This beloved annual event centers the fall harvest, featuring opportunities to connect, learn, and feast on an array of heritage apples and apple-inspired food and drink. The day’s offerings also include kid-friendly activities. This year’s event will be held on Sunday, October 20, from noon to 4 p.m., at MOFGA’s Common Ground Education Center in Unity, Maine. This is a free event, and donations are gladly welcomed at the door.
Activities and offerings include workshops, apple tasting, cider pressing, building apple boxes, and a tour of the Maine Heritage Orchard. Participants are encouraged to bring “mystery” apples to be identified by a group of experts.
“Great Maine Apple Day is a fabulous fall event that showcases and celebrates not only heritage pear and apple cultivars but also includes more modern varieties,” says MOFGA’s orchard manager, C.J. Walke. “Other fall tree fruit, such as Asian pears, and oftentimes a few tree nuts, like walnut and hickory, find their way through the door as well.”
Additionally, special workshops with experts will dig deeper into topics such as a Q&A of fruit tree pests and diseases with Glen Koehler of the University of Maine; learning how to make apple cider vinegar with Bob Sewall and Mia Mantello of Sewall Organic Orchard; and a peach tree variety trials talk — the quest for the varieties best adapted to Maine — with Renae Moran of the University of Maine.
There will be a display of Maine heritage apples and pears, featuring over 200 varieties, and participants will have the opportunity to take apple trees home to plant, including trees adapted for assisted migration (the practice of aiding species in their movement as a response to climate change). Participants will enjoy hot food, produce, baked goods, cheeses, vinegar, and beverages from a host of local vendors.
To learn more about Great Maine Apple Day’s offerings, vendors, and volunteer sign-ups, and to find the workshop schedule, click here.
