Lander used to be called “The Apple City,” and in honor of that name, the Lander Museum puts on an annual “Apple Fest.” This year’s event is set for September 14, 1 to 3 p.m.
Apple Fest will feature apple cider pressing, crafts for kids, Lander apples and talks about the history of Lander apples, horseback rides, an apple pie contest, a kid’s apple sauce eating competition, music, kid’s crafts, hard cider from Jackson and more.
Returning this year is the giant apple slingshot. For a fee, kids (and adults) can try to hit a target down range with an apple. Easily one of the most popular features last year, the 6-foot-tall slingshot can hurl an apple quite a ways down the “(apple) shooting range,” according to event director Randy Wise.
New this year will be entertainment by “Uke Can To,” Lander’s own Ukulele Band, playing old and new favorites on the porch of the Mercantile.
Lander has a long history of apple orchards, and in the early days the community was known as “The Apple City.” A lucky combination of good water and soil, shelter from the wind, and farmers willing to experiment with many tree species to find ones that would grow well here, the Lander Valley developed many fine orchards.
Apple fest will include an apple pie contest with cash prizes for the top three pies. There is also a kid’s pie competition for kids 12 and under, with those winners also getting prizes and ribbons. “The Fremont County Pioneer Association, which supports the museum, has donated some nice prize money,” Wise said. People are encouraged to get out their yummy family recipes. The rules are available here, at the museum, or online on the museum’s Facebook page.
The judging will be at 11 a.m. with three lucky judges getting to pick the winners. At 1 p.m. the pies will be cut up and slices sold to the audience with the money going to the museum.
Another fun event is an applesauce eating contest for kids. There will be three age groups and the kid who can eat their cup of applesauce the fastest will win a prize in each age group. The catch is they have to eat the applesauce with a straw and can’t use their hands. There will also be kid’s crafts and local apple demonstrations and talks.
A highlight is always the presence of Farmstead Wyoming and their samples of hard cider. Many of the apples the company from Jackson uses to make its cider come from the Lander area, and Farmstead will be back this year offering samples of its tart, tasty Wyoming made drink.
For information, call the museum at 332-3373.