APPLE FEST PREVIEW

By Lyndsey Honor

The Apple Harvest Festival—returning Friday, September 30 through Sunday, October 2—is celebrating 40 years. As always, it will take over the streets of Ithaca, closing down roads to make room for delectable food, timeless memories, and endless fun.

Coinciding with New York Cider Week, Apple Fest will bring farmers, cider makers, and the community together to share quality apple products and ciders—both alcoholic and nonalcoholic cider options will be accommodated.

Beyond the apple theme, downtown Ithaca looks forward to welcoming more than 50 artisans from around the region. Whether you’re interested in photography, spirituality, fashion, art, jewelry, soaps, or cra s, there’s certainly something for you. ese shops will line the streets, attracting passersby from every direction. Walk along the roads void of cars with a seasonal treat in hand, allowing yourself to wander into any vibrant tent demanding your attention.

No matter what, you’ll get lost in the excitement in the best way possible. As you’re looking ahead to plan for the festival, here’s what you need to know. Street Closings and Parking

Because Apple Fest is hosted downtown, there will be many street closures throughout the weekend. Check the event map for details. Signage along the streets will also be available to detour and direct tra c. ere are a few di erent parking options for this event. ere will be limited on-street parking, which is $1.50 per hour until 6 p.m. during the week and free on weekends—just be aware that you might be forced to park far away from the event because of street closures.

You can also park in the Seneca, Green, or Cayuga Street garages. ese are convenient because of their close proximity to the festival, but they ll up fast, so plan accordingly. On Friday, parking in the garages will cost $1 per hour; it’ll be free during the rest of the weekend.

Avoid parking altogether by riding the TCAT or your bike. Buses run through the downtown area all-day, giving you plenty of opportunities to catch a ride to and from the festival. You can nd bus schedules on the 2022 Ride Guide, https://tcatbus.com/ride/ current-ride-guide/. If you decide to cycle downtown, there are art bike racks everywhere. Just look for one of these uniquely designed structures along your path. Food and Drink Options

More than 20 local farmers will be selling a variety of apples, cider, maple products, and other seasonal goodies. Among these are Schweigarts Sugar Shack, Schoolyard Sugarbush, Maple River Sugar Company, and MacDonald Farms. Littletree Orchards is set to return with their famous cider donuts.

An additional 20 or more vendors will be available, including stands selling lemonade, kettle corn, tacos, and barbeque. ere will be conventional amusement treats as well, such as funnel cake, fried dough, and corn dogs— some o ering seasonal avor options.

There’s no need to come in costume, though no one will bat an eye if you do. (Photo: Casey Martin)

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e lingering scent of sugary goodness will ll the streets all weekend. e smells alone are known to attract patrons. It’s almost impossible to ignore the distinct smell of cider donuts that makes its way across Ithaca.

Nine cider houses and wineries will also be represented along the trail of tents downtown. ese are always a big hit for the adult crowd. If cider is your style, be sure to read up on what the larger New York Cider Week festival entails and how you can attend these events, https://ciderweeknewyork.com/.

A full list of vendors can be found on the Downtown Ithaca Alliance’s website,

Music of all genres will be performed at the Bernie Milton Pavilion on Saturday and Sunday, starting at noon and stretching to 6 p.m. each night. If you need a break from all the walking, feel free to revert back to the Commons for some quality entertainment. Music brings people of all ages together, and these performances are no exception. Here's who you can expect (and when!)

Saturday, Oct. 1: • 12 p.m. Rachel Beverly • 1 p.m. Sunny Weather • 2 p.m. Fire y Jazz Quartet • 3 p.m. Janet Batch • 4 p.m. Leo + e Maydays • 5 p.m. Neo Project Sunday, Oct. 2: • 12 p.m. Ageless Jazz

Band • 1 p.m. Yamatai • 1:30 p.m. Fall Creek

Brass Band • 3 p.m. Viva Mayhem • 4 p.m. Noon Fi een • 5 p.m. Ariel Arbisser Volunteer Opportunities

Vendor and performance sign ups are closed, but if you’re interested in getting involved with the Apple Harvest Festival, there’s still time to volunteer. is is a community event, so your support is both welcome and appreciated. e Downtown Ithaca Alliance has created a SignUpGe-

If you’ve had your fill of apples, there will other traditional festival foods available. (Photo: Casey Martin) nius link for your convenience, https:// www.signupgenius.com/index.cfm?go=s. signup&urlid=10c0e48aca72aabf8cf82022&view=standard.

By Julia Nagel

Most vending machines sell chips, candy or drinks. But in the main lobby of Cornell’s Mann Library, there’s a vending machine stocked solely with apples.

For just a dollar, students, faculty and visitors can sink their teeth into one of these refreshing, juicy apples, which are grown at the nearby Cornell Orchards.

“ e apples are all from the orchards in Ithaca. So they are about as local as you can get, considering that they're [grown] less than a mile away from the machine itself,” said Andrew Scheldorf, a Cornell grad student and a former Society for Horticulture (SoHo) president.

All proceeds from the machine go to SoHo, an organization for and by Cornell graduate students in horticulture. SoHo members take on the task of picking the apples as well as stocking and maintaining the vending machine. e vending machine is stocked with at least a couple and as many as nine di erent apple varieties throughout most of the academic year, though the timing varies slightly based on when the apple harvest starts.

“It's stocked when apples start getting harvested. So depending on what cultivars are available that year, we might be able to stock it when the students return at the end of August, but de nitely as it goes into September,” Scheldorf explained.

O entimes, the machine holds wellknown apple varieties—Honeycrisp, Gala or McIntosh—in addition to newer varieties developed by Cornell’s apple breeding program like SnapDragon or Firecracker.

“We had Snapdragon in there last fall at some point, and that's a really popular one that was de nitely selling out very quickly, so that had to be restocked o en,” Brittany Cook said. Cook was the SoHo treasurer last year and is currently the webmaster. e machine itself is quite high-tech; the apples sit in individual compartments so that on the o chance an apple rots, it won’t spoil the whole bunch. e machine also has a built-in refrigeration system.

“It's refrigerated which is really awesome because the apples last longer…. When you want to buy an Apple, it just opens up the entire slot. It doesn't fall out to the bottom, which is nice so it avoids bruising,” said Brittney Chew of SoHo.

Cornell’s apple vending machine has an extensive history, which can be traced back to the mid-1950s. An October 1954 copy of the Cornell Countryman magazine stated that “Even fruit vending has gone modern! e old wooden box which used to hold apples for sale on the honor system, (in the lobby of Plant Science) has been replaced by this ultramodern machine.” ere have been a few di erent iterations since then, and the machine also migrated from the Plant Science Building to its current location in Mann. Funds for the most recent machine were donated by the Smart family a er the previous machine broke down and was deemed unrepairable. Christine Smart directs the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell, and her husband Larry Smart is a plant science professor and an ’87 alum.

According to Larry Smart, the reason for this donation was to maintain the tradition of the apple vending machine for future generations of students.

“My mother also went to Cornell; she was class of ’57. And she remembers buying an apple in the apple machine. So it's been around for quite a while,” Larry Smart said. “We just think it's important to demonstrate to students, the outcomes of [Cornell’s apple] research while also giving them a healthy snack.”

“I know that the apples that we grow at the orchards go to the Cornell dining halls and they also go to local grocery stores, but you don't really know what's a Cornell apple or what's an apple from somewhere else,” Cook explained. “If you really want to buy and be sure that it’s a Cornell apple, then the vending machine is pretty much the only place to do it.”

On the Commons at 118 W. State Street (607) 319-4722

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There has been an apple vending machine at Cornell since 1954. (Photo: Julia Nagel)

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