Apples will be on everyone’s mind Saturday, Oct. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project Orchard Social at Let It Grow, 90 N. Mildred Road, Cortez.
Jude Schunemeyer will give an update on the Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project at the event.
The event will feature music and even an apple press with apple and cider tastings.
There will be activities for children and if you have apples, you may enter them in the apple contest.
The Montezuma County Fair started over 100 years ago, primarily from the energy and passion of local fruit growers who wanted to show off their fruit, some of which went up to state and world fair levels. Over time, much of this passion faded, and for various reasons, the fair got moved up earlier in the season, a season too early to enter most fruit and local apple orchards started to disappear.
The Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project is hoping to put the area’s fruit back on display.
There will be awards for: biggest, most attractive, funniest-looking, wormiest, best spitter and best of show.
Schunemeyer hopes to make the apple social an annual event.
The recently formed orchard restoration group is still looking for some of the apples seen at the Montezuma County Fair that won top premiums between the years 1903 to 1911. Have you seen any of these Colorado varieties: Walbridge, Flora Bell, Kent’s Beauty, Colorado Favorite, Wyeth, Colorado Red, Ben Maupin, Shackleford, Baskett, Dwinnie, Bovuet, Lover’s or Lover’s II, Sweet Pear, Tennessee, Striped Sweet Pippin, Colorado Seedling, Fall Rambo, Ned, Cooper’s Early White, Sikman, Colored Hedard’s Pippin syn. Harbord?
If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of these apples contact Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project. 970-565-3099 or letitgrow@q.com.
