Last week, I had the opportunity to attend Apple Festival which was great for many reasons. The primary reason being that I had the opportunity to catch a break before my exams. Even though I’m a junior, I still never went to Apple Harvest festival before and almost wasn’t about to go this time either. This made me reflect on how there will always be something else that will come in my way, which made me realize that if I truly want to experience what Ithaca has to offer, I would need to make that a priority for me.

At Apple Festival, I was impressed by the size and the extent to which any sort of apple related or themed product, game or activity was available. Given that many families were at this festival, it was clearly an event where not only college students but also families can relax, have fun and spend time with their families. I also appreciated this event because I had never before understood the varieties in apple based products that could be made, and thus this event got me to thinking about how I could potentially replicate some of these recipes using simple ingredients at my house.

I began to realize that this event was the large promotional factor for farms and that while this event was fun for visitors, it could be stressful on vendors who are competing with other vendors to make the highest sales. In that regard, I noticed how even when two vendors were selling the exact same products, ie. apple pies, they each were different in some way. One was a different in the types of apple pies available, and the other was the different in another category, such as customer service and amiability.

Either way, I was in awe of the hard work and effort people put into this effort, as well as the fresh and organic foods that were available. That encouraged me to talk to the vendors about how the foods were processed and produced and understand more about the supply chain. In doing so, I could see the passion of the vendors to describe their process and felt very satisfied purchasing my pies and fruits knowing the sustainable process that was used in creating them.