I had a blast at Ithaca’s Apple Harvest Festival last weekend! I enjoyed some great samosas, apple pie mix, and coconut-based ice cream! I’ve actually gone to Apple Fest every year that I’ve been in Ithaca, and I think it’s a local event that generally has a huge positive impact on the Cornell student population.

Apple Fest is the perfect event at the perfect time to give new students a little push to start exploring Ithaca. Its timing is just right: by late September, most students have settled in on campus and are comfortable with the surrounding area. Most don’t have too many prelims yet. It’s just the right moment to introduce them to the Ithaca Commons and the rest of Ithaca beyond Cornell. In addition, the event is food-centric, and food is one of the few motivators that actually works on lazy college students.

The event itself is perfect for giving students a taste of Ithacan culture. It stars local farms and small businesses. It’s a little quirky and alternative. It shows off Ithaca’s foodie culture. It’s extremely popular among families, so students can see that Ithaca is more than a college town. Also, like Ithaca itself, it’s surprisingly multicultural, with Indian, Greek, Thai, Laotian, Latin, and Trini food.

I’d also like to mention that learning about the apple industry before the event was pretty interesting as well! It’s strange thinking about how a simple food like an apple is still designed like any other product. Different breeds can target different audiences and are designed to exhibit different desirable features. I tried the Snapdragons this week, and they are as loud, red, and crisp as the name suggests!