Washington Hard Cider & Apple Blossom Festival

 Western Washington may soon be the go to place in the U.S. for hard cider connoisseurs to sample, and stock up on their favorite beverage. Carol Miles, of the WSU Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center, is leading a team of researchers that have identified two of the objectives necessary for establishing a Washington hard cider culture - determining the apples and their juice best suitable for cider making, and automating harvest with machinery to make cidering economically feasible. When they can do that, cider will offer apple growers the potential to diversify and yield a profit with apples that can’t be sold as fresh fruit.

2012 APPLE BLOSSOM ROYALTY SELECTION: The 93rd queen to reign over the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival, her royal highness, queen Samantha Allen.

The roar of the crowd was immense as Wenatchee High School teen Samantha Allen was crowned Queen of the 2012 Washington State Apple Blossom Festival. With an amazing 93 year history the festival has been thrilling festival goers since the Model T was the car to have and women were still fighting for the right to vote. Originally known as “Blossom Days”, the festival was renamed the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival to reflect the importance of the apple industry to the state. This year’s festival runs April 26 through May 6, and festivities include parades, live music, great food, games, carnival rides, and more. For festival information visit festival@appleblossom.org

I’m Lacy Gray and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.