AUTUMN FUN
Thousands attend 30th annual Apple Festival at Goold Orchards
SCHODACK, N.Y. >> Thousands of fall fun- seekers from near and far traveled to Goold Orchards over the weekend for its 30th annual Apple Festival.
The long-running event started in 1989, is typically the local orchard’s busiest weekend of the year, drawing crowds of families for fall activities.
In addition to apple picking, event festivities included a craft show, wine tasting tent, petting zoo, face painting station, horsedrawn wagon rides and a farm store bakery filled with goodies such as cider, cookies, fritters and, of course, apple cider donuts.
Owner Sue Goold Miller aims for Apple Festival weekend to be “very family-
friendly so that everybody can have a good time - right from grandpa and grandma
all the way down to the little guys,” she said. “There’s
something for everyone.”
On Sunday, which had nicer weather of the two festival days, Goold Miller was hopeful that around 10,000 attendees would make their way to her family’s farm.
Goold Miller is the third generation of the Goold family to run the 100-acre farm, which has about 13,000 trees. Her grandparents first started the farm in 1910. “The soils here are very, very incredible for growing,” she said, explaining why her grandfather chose the land in Schodack. “This ground is just some of the most prime property in Rensselaer County.”
This year, in particular, Goold Orchards proved itself to be fruitful, as did others around the country. “This is a bumper year for apples in the whole United States,” Goold Miller said.
Crispin, Red Delicious, Rome, Honeycrisp, Jonagold. Cortland, Gala, and Empire were all among the varieties of apples ready for to Goold Orchards guests who visited over the weekend.
Bushels and pecks, as well as bags for those who wanted to roam the orchard and pick their own apples, were available on Sunday, as they will be throughout the rest of the apple season.
For some, like local mom, Carro Rogan of Ravena, a trip to Goold Orchards is a fall season staple. “We go every year to Apple Fest. There’s just so much for the kids to do,” she said while standing in the petting zoo area. The animals, cider donuts and craft shopping are among some of her clan’s favorite attractions, she continued. “It’s a family tradition.”
More information about Goold Orchards is available online at www. goold.com.