Franklin County CiderDays

November 4th - 6th, 2016

We are excited to present the 22nd annual CiderDays on the first full weekend of November. We are still tweaking the schedule but you'll find highlights below. You can also download a draft schedule here.

What is CiderDays?

CiderDays is an annual community celebration of all things apple in beautiful Franklin County, Massachusetts. 2016 marks our 22nd year with tours, cidermaking and tastings, workshops and much more in orchards and venues county-wide from Ashfield, Deerfield, Charlemont and Colrain to New Salem and the towns in between. Whether you are a cider aficionado (hard or sweet), love apples, make your own cider, are an orchardist, or just enjoy soaking up all the goodness autumn in New England has to offer, CiderDays is not to be missed!

There is a charge for some of the events but many of the workshops and activities at the Shelburne Buckland Community Center and at local orchards are completely FREE.
 

2016 Event Highlights

• Fifth Annual CiderDays Amateur Cider Competition - an AHA/BJCP sanctioned event open to any amateur cidermaker age 21 or older — will be held December 2016, roughly one month after CiderDays. This will allow cidermakers attending this years CiderDays to drop entries at the event rather than sending them via UPS. Registration for the CiderDays Amateur Cider Competition will open on Saturday, October 22, 2016 and close on Saturday, November 12, 2016.

• Workshops, Talks and Tastings from beginner through advanced for cider makers, home orchardists and cider afficionados at orchards (Saturday and Sunday) and at the Shelburne Buckland Community Center in Shelburne Falls (Saturday) FREE (taste hard cider with the purchase of a $5 glass)

• Special Friday night Cider Cocktails event with Darlene Hayes, author of Cider Cocktails: Another Bite of the Apple, at The Arts Block in Greenfield, MA. Sample cider cocktails and enjoy hors d'oeuvres at this limited-ticket event (only 60 attendees). BUY TICKETS

• The Cider Salon — the world's longest-running hard cider tasting with more than 90 individual cider brands from across North America and Europe. This year's salons will have more room for sampling as they will be held on two floors of the main base lodge at Berkshire East Mountain Resort in Charlemont, featuring easy access from Route 2 and I-91 and convenient parking. Two sessions — 3 to 4:30 and 5:15 to 6:45 (Saturday) $25/ticket  BUY TICKETS

• CiderDays Locavore Harvest Supper — Held at The Warfield House in Charlemont, this locally-sourced savory fall feast features cider and apple varieties prominently. See menu $45/ticket BUY TICKETS

• Ice Cider Tasting with Eleanor Leger of Eden Specialty Ciders and Ben Watson, author of Cider: Hard & Sweet on Sunday at the Deerfield Community Center in Historic Deerfield $30/ticket  BUY TICKETS

• Cider and Cheese Pairing with Provisions of Northampton on Sunday at the the Deerfield Community Center in Historic Deerfield $30/ticket  BUY TICKETS

• Cider Appreciation 101 Guided Tasting with cider educator Eric West (of ciderguide.com) on Sunday at the Deerfield Community Center in Historic Deerfield. In the popular workshop, Eric will lead a guided tour of cider styles from around the world. Participants will learn about the history, culture, production methods, and food pairings while sampling ciders from the world's major cidermaking regions. $30/ticket 
  BUY TICKETS

• Heritage Apple Variety Tasting with John Bunker and Cammy Watts on Sunday at the Deerfield Community Center in Historic Deerfield $20/ticket  BUY TICKETS

• Cidermaking 101 Workshop with Bob Delisle and Charlie Olchowski on Saturday morning (9 - 11am) at Pine Hill Orchards — this is a hands-on beginner's cider making workshop. The fee covers instructions and materials for making your first batch of cider. Materials: plastic fermenter, 5 gallon glass carboy, bored stopper, airlock, 6' syphon hose, 30" racking tube and bottle brush, plus sweet cider. You'll leave the workshop with your first batch of hard cider well under way. $85/ticket  BUY TICKETS

• New Salem Preserves and Orchards hosts its Cider and Apple Festival with child-friendly apple pressing. Farm products, along with exhibits from local artisans, will be displayed within the courtyard of the cider mill. You will also have the ever-present breathtaking view of the Quabbin Reservoir and beyond. FREE. Workshops offered (also free):
  Saturday 12:00-1:00 — Making Delicious Apple Cider Vinegar for Salad Dressings and more with Rafe Wolman
  Saturday 1:00-2:00 — Basic Apple Tree Pruning with Steve Weisman
  Saturday 2:30-3:30 — Tending Backyard Apple Trees with Steve Lanphear
  Sunday 11:00 - 12:00 — Make Your Own Apple Cider Vinegar and Fire Cider with Laura Ketteringham
  Sunday 1:00-2:30 — Home Hard Cider Makers Workshop; Make & Taste with April Woodard — Bring your own hard cider for a group tasting/discussion and also watch a demonstration of how to make your own.

• Mulled Cider, Hard Cider, and Heirloom Apple Orchard Tour on Saturday afternoon (12 – 2 pm). Enjoy sweet mulled cider by the fire, grab a pint of Artifact Cider (hard cider), then get a tour of Tip Top Orchard to learn about their rare and unusual apple varieties, all at one of the most beautiful orchards in the state. (Tip Top Orchard, Buckland) FREE

• Ice Cider: Culture and Practice with Eleanor Leger on Saturday at the Shelburne Buckland Community Center FREE

• New England Pie: History Under a Crust with author Dr. Rob Cox on Saturday (Clarkdale Fruit Farms, Deerfield) FREE

• Apple-themed cooking demo with Sandy D'Amato, owner of Good Stock Farm and author of Good Stock: Life on a Low Simmer, on Sunday (Clarkdale Fruit Farms, Deerfield) FREE

• Seeking Wild Cider Apples with John Bunker, Andy Brennan and Steve Gougeon on Saturday, and Growing Low Input Cider Apples with Steve Gougeon and Jennifer Williams on Sunday, both at Bear Swamp Orchard and Cidery. FREE

• Renovating and Top Working Old Orchards with Eliza Greenman on Saturday at the Shelburne Buckland Community Center FREE

• Tasting of True Cider Apple Varieties, on Saturday at the Shelburne Buckland Community Center, and Apples for Juice and Cider on Sunday at Bear Swamp Orchard and Cidery, both with Claude Jolicoeur, author of The New Cider Maker's Handbook FREE

• The ever-popular Making Barrel Cider with Steve Patt and Paul Correnty on Sunday at Apex Orchards in Shelburne FREE

• Tastings of hard and sweet ciders, mead, cyzer, apples and pears at various locations in Franklin County throughout the weekend (check schedule for details) FREE

and much, much more!

Thanks to Our Sponsors!

The 2015 CiderDays event is made possible by the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and our friends at OESCO Inc., Northeast Solar, the Franklin Community Co-operative (Green Fields Market and McCusker's Market), PV Squared, Fedco Seeds, Bear Swamp Orchard, New England Apple Association, Ryan & Casey Liquors and Cold River Package, Provisions, Shelton Brothers and West County Cider

Funded, in part, by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. MassVacation.com