Get ready to celebrate Lander’s apple history. The first Lander Pioneer Museum Apple Fest is set for September 14, 1 to 3 p.m.
The event will feature apple cider pressing, crafts for kids, a petting zoo, an apple pie contest, a kid’s apple sauce eating competition and more.
Lander has a long history of apple orchards, and in the early days the community was known as “The Apple City.” A lucky combination of good water and soil, shelter from the wind, and farmers willing to experiment with many tree species to find ones that would grow well here, the Lander Valley developed many fine orchards.
In honor of this history, the Pioneer Museum is creating apple fest, which will highlight the many aspects of apples and apple use in the valley.
“Our spring Sheep Shearing event is hugely popular and looks at that very important part of Lander’s agricultural history,” said Museum Curator Randy Wise. “We hope apple fest will give people an understanding of how important apples were to Lander.” Wise said that attempts are being made to bring back some of the historic orchards in the area.
“This is a family event and should be a lot of fun for everyone,” Wise said. Apple fest will include an apple pie contest with cash prizes for the top three pies. People are encouraged to get out their yummy family recipes. The rules are available at the museum, or online at the museum Facebook page.
The judging will be at 1 p.m. with three lucky judges getting to pick the winners. The pies will then be cut up and slices sold to the audience with the money going to the museum.
Another fun event is an apple sauce eating contest for kids. There will be three age groups and the kid who can eat their bowl of apple sauce the fastest will win a prize in each age group. The catch is they have to eat the apple sauce with a straw and can’t use their hands.
For information call the museum at 332-3373.
Photo caption: A postcard from the early 1900s advertising Lander as the Apple City.
Rules: Lander Pioneer Museum 2019 Apple Fest apple pie contest Sept. 14, 1 to 3 p.m.
1st place $50.00 and a ribbon
2nd place $30.00 and a ribbon
3rd place $20.00 and a ribbon
Open to anyone wanting to bake an apple pie
Entry fee $5.00 per pie
Entry to be a pie that must include at least 60% apples in the filling. It does not need to be a “traditional” two crusted apple pie and it can have a variety of fillings.
The entire pie must be submitted for judging in a disposable pie pan. (All pans, plates, and dishes are considered disposable and will NOT be returned.)
The recipe for the pie and pie crust must be submitted with the entry. The recipe must list all the ingredients, quantities, and the preparation.
Please do not write your name on the pie tin. Your entry will be assigned a number at registration.
Pie MUST be checked in by 12 p.m. on contest day for a one o’clock judging.
After awards are announced, pies will be sliced and individual pieces sold to the public. Proceeds are donated to the Lander Pioneer Museum
Judging:
Overall appearance: crust and filling color, creative detailing, even distribution of filling, etc.
Overall flavor: fresh taste, texture, doneness, consistency, etc.
Originality: creativity in appearance and flavor
