Franklin County CiderDays

November 1st - 3rd, 2019

We are beyond thrilled to be presenting the 25th Anniversary CiderDays event from November 1 - 3, 2019!

Our organizing committee has been hard at work and you'll find 2019 draft schedule here. There's so much going on that the schedule is three pages long!

Check out our video (thanks, TOLD Video!) to see what makes CiderDays the magical event that it is. And you'll find photos and videos from this year's CiderDays on our Facebook page and Instagram account. Use #FranklinCountyCiderDays when posting photos and we will repost our favorites!

If you'd like to see the caliber of the producers at the Salons, check out the list of hard cider producers from the 2018 Cider Salons.

What is CiderDays?

CiderDays is an annual community celebration of all things apple in beautiful Franklin County, Massachusetts. 2019 marks our 25th Anniversary with tours, cidermaking and tastings, workshops and much more in orchards and venues county-wide from Ashfield, Deerfield, Turners Falls, Shelburne Falls, and Colrain to New Salem and the towns in between. Whether you are a cider aficionado (hard or sweet), make your own cider, are an orchardist, like hanging out in bucolic orchards, or just enjoy soaking up all the goodness of autumn in New England, CiderDays is your event!

There is a charge for some of the events but many of the workshops and activities at the Shelburne Buckland Community Center and at local orchards are completely FREE.

Eventbrite - Franklin County CiderDays, Nov 3 - 5, 2017

2019 TICKETED EVENTS

Friday night event — Tasting of Calvados and Apple Brandy w/Ambrosia Borowski and Ria Windcaller from 6:30 - 8:00pm at the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center, 3rd floor (formerly the Arts Block) in Greenfield, MA. Ambrosia Borowski of Chicago's cider bar The Northman leads this curated tasting with cider expert (and host of The Cider Chat podcast) Ria Windcaller. $65/ticket BUY TICKETS

Beginner's Cider Making Workshop with Bob Delisle and Charlie Olchowski on Saturday morning from 8:30 - 11:00 am at Pine Hill Orchards — this is a hands-on beginner's cider making workshop. The fee covers instructions and materials for making your first batch of cider. Materials: plastic fermenter, 5 gallon glass carboy, bored stopper, airlock, 6' syphon hose, 30" racking tube and bottle brush, plus sweet cider. You'll leave the workshop with your first batch of hard cider well under way. $85/ticket BUY TICKETS

United States Cider Makers Association Cider Salons — the world's longest-running hard cider tasting with more than 120 individual cider brands from across North America and Europe. This year, the Salons will be held in a large tent in Unity Park, on the Connecticut River in Turners Falls, featuring easy access from Route 2 and I-91. Convenient parking in lots across and next to the venue and on the side streets in Turners Falls. Two sessions — 3:30 - 5:00 and 5:45 - 7:15 (Saturday) $35/ticket BUY TICKETS

Rosé Cider Tasting — Rosé ciders are all the rage but what makes a really good one? Ben Watson and friends talk about the characteristics to look for and lead participants through a focused sampling of the best available. Sunday, 11:30 AM-12:30 PM, Deerfield Community Center in Historic Deerfield. $30/ticket
BUY TICKETS

Founders Picks: 25 Years of Cidermaking — Judith Maloney, Charllie Olchowski, Ben Watson, and Paul Correnty offer tastings of their favorite ciders. Sunday, 1:00-2:00 PM, Deerfield Community Center in HIstoric Deerfield. $30/ticket. BUY TICKETS

North vs. South Apple Tasting Smackdown w/John Bunker and Diane Flynt, Foggy Ridge Cidery, 3 times James Beard Foundation nominee — Are apples from the North better than apples from the South? Who will win? Taste fruit from both growing regions and decide for yourself. 1:00-2:00 PM, Deerfield Community Center in Historic Deerfield. $25/ticket. BUY TICKETS

Cider and Cheese Pairing — A perennial favorite at CiderDays. The cheesemongers at Provisions in Northampton will present some of the best and most interesting cheeses from the US and Europe, and we will pair them with six compatible ciders. It’s a great way to learn how to think about making your own pairings at home. Sunday, 4:00-5:00 PM, Deerfield Community Center in Historic Deerfield. $30/ticket BUY TICKETS

2019 FREE EVENTS

Thursday, October 31st

Pre-Event Workshop on Thursday, October 31st - Wild Apple Pomological Exposition: A Seedling Apple Showcase, with cider explorer Matt Kaminsky in the Ashfield Town Hall (Ashfield, MA). More details to come.

Friday, November 1st

Cider Schmooze and Cider Tap Takeover — After the Calvados and Apple Brandy event on the 3rd floor at Hawks & Reed, we'll reset the room into an informal pub so you can talk with cidermakers and authors in a casual setting. Cider and food will be available for sale. 8:30 - 11:00pm
Cider Pub Sing, 7:30 - 9:00 (BYOC) at the Parish Hall of the Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew, Greenfield FREE but donations appreciated
The Crowning of Pomona, 9:00 pm — the First Annual Crowning of Franklin County CiderDays Pomona at the Parish Hall of the Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew, Greenfield
Pop Up Cider Pub, 9:00 - 11:00 (BYOC), at the Parish Hall of the Episcopal Church of Saints James and Andrew, Greenfield FREE but donations appreciated
25 Years of Cider and CiderDays exhibit at the Discovery Center in downtown Turners Falls - more info to come
Apple and Orchards art exhibit in downtown Greenfield - discover apple and orchard-themed art from Franklin County artists in this gallery show in downtown Greenfield - more info to come

Saturday, November 2nd

New Salem Preserves and Orchards hosts its Cider and Apple Festival with child-friendly apple pressing. Farm products, along with exhibits from local artisans, will be displayed within the courtyard of the cider mill. You will also have the ever-present breathtaking view of the Quabbin Reservoir and beyond. A robust workshop scheduled offered both days (also free):
Saturday 12:00 - 1:00 —Tending Backyard Apple Trees with Steve Lanphear, Steve Marglin, and Steve Weisman
Saturday 1:00 - 2:00 — Basic Apple Tree Pruning with Steve Weisman
Saturday 2:30 - 3:30— Apple Alchemy: “Secrets” Of Making Award Winning Hard Ciders with William Grote

Cyser: Pro Tips on Making It with Dave Keramaty of Artisan Beverage Coop at the Shelburne Buckland Community Center
Growing Your Own Cider Orchard with Alan Yelvington at the Shelburne Buckland Community Center
Cultivated Apples and Wild Ferments are my Cider Making Bag with Tom Oliver (of Oliver's Cider & Perry, Herefordshire, UK), and Friends at Memorial Hall in Shelburne
Becoming Pomona: Women in Cider Panel w/ Judith Maloney (founder CiderDays/West County Cider), Ria Windcaller (Cider Chat/Totally Cider
Tours) April Woodard (Cider Industry Expert) and Autumn Stoscheck (Eve’s Cidery)
Apple Crisp, Cobbler, and Crumble Food Demo with Yankee Magazine’s Senior Food Editor Amy Traverso at Clarkdale Fruit Farms, Deerfield
Holistic Orchard Management in a Nutshell — long time CiderDays fave Michael Phillips returns for a talk on managing natural orchards at Memorial Hall in Shelburne
Cider Bars: What Makes a Good One? with Ambrosia Borowski (Chicago’s The Northman) and Melissa Madden (Finger Lakes Cider House)
Non-traditional Orcharding with John Bunker, Andy Brennan, and Michael Phillips at Memorial Hall in Shelburne
Pruning Old Apple Trees: A Hands-on Demonstration, with David and William Shearer and the Pine Hill All Stars
19th Century Pears, A Ruling Passion. William Lewis’s Pear Orchard, 1861 - 1894, with Christie Higginbottom at the Shea Theater Arts Center, downtown Turners Falls
25 Years of Cider and CiderDays exhibit at the Discovery Center in downtown Turners Falls - more info to come
Apple and Orchards art exhibit in downtown Greenfield - discover apple and orchard-themed art from Franklin County artists in this gallery show in downtown Greenfield - more info to come

Sunday, November 3rd

New Salem Preserves and Orchards hosts its Cider and Apple Festival with child-friendly apple pressing. Farm products, along with exhibits from local artisans, will be displayed within the courtyard of the cider mill. You will also have the ever-present breathtaking view of the Quabbin Reservoir and beyond. A robust workshop schedule offered both days (also free):
Sunday 12:00 - 1:00 — Make Your Own Apple Cider Vinegar, with Terry McCue
Sunday 1:00 - 2:15 — Beginning and Advanced Cidermaking with April Woodard
Sunday 2:15 - 3:00 — Bring Your Own; Amateur Cider Makers Tasting/Evaluation, Fun & Trouble-shooting with April Woodard
Sunday 3:00 - 4:00 — Lost Apples of the Quabbin & Pomological Conservation with Matt Kaminsky
Cooking Demo with Sandy D’Amato of Good Stock Farm, and apple-themed cooking demo with Erika Connell Cooper, Butter & Birch, at Clarkdale Fruit Farms, Deerfield
Growing Low Input Organic Cider Fruit with Steve Gougeon at Bear Swamp Orchard & Cidery, Ashfield
Traveling the Cider Road in a Group or Solo with Ria Windcaller & Al Sax at the Shea Theater Arts Center, downtown Turners Falls
The Road Ahead: The Future of US Cider, a discussion with the United States Cider Association at the Shea Theater Arts Center, downtown Turners Falls
Making Cider with Cannabis w/ Paul Correnty and the Merry Makers at the at the Shea Theater Arts Center, downtown Turners Falls
25 Years of Cider and CiderDays exhibit at the Discovery Center in downtown Turners Falls - more info to come
Apple and Orchards art exhibit in downtown Greenfield - discover apple and orchard-themed art from Franklin County artists in this gallery show in downtown Greenfield - more info to come

plus the Eighth Annual CiderDays Amateur Cider Competition - an AHA/BJCP sanctioned event open to any amateur cidermaker age 21 or older — will be held December 2018, roughly one month after CiderDays. This will allow cidermakers attending this years CiderDays to drop entries at the event rather than sending them via UPS. Registration opens on the competition website in October. See last year's winners.

and so much more!