Apple Fest was nothing new for me. My friends and I are always excited to get off campus for a while and enjoy the unique experiences that Ithaca has to offer. Getting to try some yummy treats while we are at it just makes the experience so much better! Who doesn’t love food? Even if you’re not a huge fan of apples, there are food trucks there with all different cuisines. It was, however, the first time that I had heard about the history of Apple Fest and had learned about the apple industry itself (curtesy of SA Katie). Quite frankly, I didn’t realize that there were so many apple varieties because I personally have a hard time differentiating the tastes of different apples. Maybe my palate is just not as refined as others’. I also didn’t realize that the government used to have the sole rights to new varieties developed at public institutions (as was my understanding from our pre-apple festivities discussion). I think having this newly divulged information prior to visiting apple fest gave me an entirely different perspective on my experience. It was nice knowing that I was supporting local businesses and industry while enjoying my time eating everything apple related.