The day started off with a short informational session about apples in the Rose Main common room. It was very interesting to learn about the seemingly old-fashioned industry, because it is anything but that! New advancements in science (especially genetics) and agriculture have given rise to different lineages of apples with new functionalities. We talked about the stories behind Ruby Frost and Snap Dragon; a great deal of thinking goes behind the name of an apple. I’m curious to know where Granny Smith apples got their name!

To my surprise, the Apple Festival was much larger than I had anticipated. I was able to try so many different apple products that I wouldn’t have been able to back at home. Unfortunately, I couldn’t buy as many products as I wanted to because an overwhelming amount of vendors only accepted cash. My favorite was the hot spiced apple cider from a cauldron. I avoided candied apples as best as I could because I could hear my dentist’s voice in the back of my head telling me no. In general, my first Apple Fest was a success! I will definitely be going back every year to see what cool new products the vendors come up with.