Applecrest 2011 Schedule of Events!
2011 marks the 37th year running that Applecrest has invited our community to celebrate and share in the harvest. Our Festivals offer a break from the tangle of everyday living with pure and simple, honest-to-goodness family fun. They’re a time when moms and dads, grandparents and grandchildren, can reconnect with each other and with the land to make memories that last a lifetime. So, grab the gang and come visit us at Applecrest where, as always, admission and parking is FREE. See you at the farm!
Our Fall festivals launch on the first weekend in September and run from 11:00a to 5:00p, both Saturday and Sunday, every weekend, through the end of October.
Here’s what you can expect:
• Pick-your-own Apples, Rasberries, Peaches, & Pumpkins. Cut-your-own Flowers too!
• FREE live Folk and Bluegrass music (beginning at 1:00p)
• Old-Fashioned ice cream barn with 25 local-made flavors featuring our own grown-on-the-farm fruits.
• Horse-drawn Hayrides (last ride at 4:30p)
• Children’s Petting Zoo
• Face Painting & Balloons
• Pie Eating Contests
• Apple Pie & Ice Cream
• Old-Fashioned Hot Cider Donuts
• Make-your-own Scarecrow
• Press-Your-Own apple cider
• Our Famous Corn Roast featuring: grilled gourmet sausages, hot dogs, hamburgers, fire-roasted corn, Maine clam chowder, fresh pressed apple cider and more.
BLOSSOM RUN & SPRING PLOW DAY: Saturday, May 7, 2011 (8a to 3p)
What better way to jump-start our season with an event that has heralded Spring in our town for nearly 20 years. The race includes a timed and certified 5 mile run and a timed 5K partial off-road run, both with cash prizes. Additionally, there’s a 5K walk and a 1 mile kids’ Fun Run, both winding through the gorgeous blooming orchards. A festival including live bluegrass music, horse and antique tractor field plowing, food, hayrides, pie-eating contest, and prize raffles will all be held after the race for the enjoyment of the runners, their families, and the community. All funds raised benefit the children of Lincoln Akerman School.
Race details and registration can be found at www.hfroadrace.org.
STRAWBERRY FESTIVAL: Sunday, June 19, 2011 (10a to 3p)
Four rolling acres of juicy berries and a cool spring-fed pond provide the backdrop for a fun-filled day of Pick-Your-Own strawberries, free live bluegrass music, tractor drawn hayrides, face painting, gourmet sausage grill, cider donuts and a bevy of strawberry inspired delicacies from our very own scratch kitchen and bakery.
PEACH FESTIVAL: Sunday, August 14, 2011 (10a to 3p)
Our 6th annual celebration of all things peachy! Applecrest is home to more than 20 distinct varieties of succulent tree-ripened peaches, nectarines and plums. Come spend the day and pick ‘em straight from the tree. Our peach festival features free live bluegrass music, tractor-drawn hayrides to the peach orchard, our famous corn roast and sausage grill, hot cider donuts and every peach inspired yummy under the sun.
ANTIQUE TRACTOR SHOW: Sunday, September 11, 2011
Join us for our 5th Annual Antique Tractor Show featuring an amazing array of old-timer antique tractors, courtesy of the East Coast Antique Tractor Club. From a 1919 steel-wheeled International to an extremely rare 1958 John Deere 730 diesel, there’s plenty of eye candy for all.
ANTIQUE CAR SHOW: Sunday, October 16, 2011
Like old cars? Well, this is the place to be. For the 10th year running, Applecrest is hosting the North Shore Antique Car Club and forty-odd of their best and brightest. Come marvel at the chrome gleam of some of the coolest cars ever to hit the road.
ANTIQUE TRACTOR PLOW DAY: Sunday, October 23, 2011
What better way to end a great season then to….PLOW! We’re very pleased to once again welcome the East Coast Antique Tractor Club for our 5th Annual Applecrest Plow Day. An army of old-timer tractors will be helping us get ready for winter, ripping and roaring and turning earth all the farm over. So, gather little Jack and Jane and join us here at the farm to revel in the fall foliage and see how they used to do it.
STORYBOOK HAYRIDES: October 22nd, 23rd, 29th & 30th, 2011 (11a to 4p)
Beloved fairy tale characters take to our orchards, performing sweet vignettes for children perched on a roving horse-drawn hay wagon. In eight lively scenes, kids partake in the classics, warning Little Red of the approaching wolf, watching Humpty Dumpty have his great fall, helping Dorothy and The Scarecrow along the yellow brick road and much, much more.
A note to all Kiddos: costumes, though not required, are always warmly welcome!
Fee: $6.00 per/person (infants ride free). Proceeds help finance the Exeter High School Drama Club’s yearly sojourn to The Big Apple for a Broadway show. Come support the students and enjoy some good, old-fashioned Halloween fun.
ORCHARD CROSS BIKE RACE: Sunday, October 30, 2011
Our very own sprint to the finish! Applecrest is proud to once again host NorEast Cycling and the New England Cyclocross Championships for the 3rd Annual Orchard Cross bike race. This unique 100 year-old cycling tradition is a real treat to watch. With plenty of sleek spandex, suped-up bikes and a 2-mile looped multi-terrain orchard course, this cyclo-cross event is one not to be missed. Also featuring a kid’s race, an all-ages costume rally and a pumpkin carving contest.
For more info about the Orchard Cross bike race click here.
2011 Festival Schedule & Musical Performers:
Note: as Mother Nature sometimes dashes our best intentions, please call ahead for up-to-the-minute festival info and picking conditions.
Blossom Run & Spring Plow Day
Sat, May 7, 2011: Taylor River Band
Strawberry Festival
Sun, Jun 19, 2011: Chad Hollister
Peach Festival
Sun, Aug 14, 2011: Taylor River Band
Labor Day Weekend Festival
Sat, Sep 3, 2011: Taylor River Band
Sun, Sep 4, 2011: Granite Grass
Mon, Sep 5, 2011: Granite Grass
Harvest Kick-Off
Sat, Sep 10, 2011: Southern Rail
Sun, Sep 11, 2011: Granite Grass (also featuring our 5th Annual Antique Tractor Show)
Indian Summer Festival
Sat, Sep 17, 2011: Granite Grass
Sun, Sep 18, 2011: White Mountain Blue Grass
Autumn Equinox
Sat, Sep 24, 2011: White Mountain Blue Grass
Sun, Sep 25, 2011: White Mountain Blue Grass
Oktoberfest
Sat, Oct 1, 2011: White Mountain Blue Grass
Sun, Oct 2, 2011: White Mountain Blue Grass
Columbus Day Weekend Festival
Sat, Oct 8, 2011: White Mountain Blue Grass
Sun, Oct 9, 2011: White Mountain Blue Grass
Mon, Oct 10, 2011: Southern Rail
Harvest Hoedown
Sat, Oct 15, 2011: Southern Rail
Sun, Oct 16, 2011: White Mountain Blue Grass (also featuring our 10th Annual Antique Car Show)
Storybook Hayrides
Sat, Oct 22, 2011: Southern Rail
Sun, Oct 23, 2011: Granite Grass (also featuring our 5th Annual Antique Tractor Plow Day)
Storybook Hayrides & Harvest Closer
Sat, Oct 29, 2011: Taylor River Band
Sun, Oct 30, 2011: Southern Rail (also featuring the 3rd Annual OrchardCross Bike Race)
Will there be any picking strawberries before June 19? thank you.
right now looking to try and open PYO on Sunday. we’ll see if the weather cooperates. as always, call ahead for up-to-minute weather + picking conditions. see you in the patch ~ TW