Apple Annual blossoms Sunday
BY: TODD GUILD
A variety of apples thrive at the Redman House on Lee Road at West Beach Street where an Apple Annual fundraiser will take place Sunday.
As the season slides slowly into autumn, the green trees are yielding to yellows and reds, while fallen leaves crunch underfoot. The sun, which has a little more trouble breaking free of the misty mornings, gives way more easily every day to cool, crisp evenings.
For many, the autumn weather is a perfect backdrop for the harvest festivals that usher in the winter.
One such festival is the Apple Annual, which for years was a Watsonville tradition, and a salute to a time when when the fruit dominated Pajaro Valley’s agricultural scene and the area boasted more than a million trees on 14,000 acres.
The event, which will take place Sunday, will feature food and beverages from several local providers, including S. Martinelli & Co., Monterey Bay Catering and Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria. The apples will be provided by Watsonville farms.
The Pajaro Valley Historical Association will have a table set up with Apple Annual memorabilia. Additionally, several items donated from Santa Cruz County businesses will be auctioned.
So far, organizers have sold 50 tickets, and expect about 150 people will attend the event.
“A big part of our vision is to provide a community-based venue,” said Barbara Powell, director of the Redman-Hirahara Foundation.
Powell added that the celebration has room for 300 attendees.
The festival, which was launched in 1910 by the Board of Trade and the Chamber of Commerce, honored Pajaro Valley’s apple growers. Organizers hoped to bring in $100,000 annually.
The success of the first festival exceeded expectations, with 40,000 people coming from all over the country, but after three successful years, the Apple Annual moved to San Francisco. It eventually faded away when World War I began.
The idea to bring back the Apple Annual was launched when historians learned that the owner of the Redman House — a Victorian-style manor sitting at the corner of West Beach Street and Lee Road — was involved in the early Pajaro Valley apple industry.
The celebration will be held at the Redman property, although ongoing restoration of the house will at first hinder a larger celebration.
Organizers hope to quickly finish the house and expand the property to eventually produce a family-friendly festival.
•••
The Apple Annual will be held Sunday from 2-5 p.m. at the Redman House. For information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.redmanhouse.com. Tickets may be purchased on the day of the event.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
*Photos by Tarmo Hannula, program cover courtesy of the Pajaro Valley Historical Association*
(Published in 10/10/08 edition)
A variety of apples thrive at the Redman House on Lee Road at West Beach Street where an Apple Annual fundraiser will take place Sunday.
As the season slides slowly into autumn, the green trees are yielding to yellows and reds, while fallen leaves crunch underfoot. The sun, which has a little more trouble breaking free of the misty mornings, gives way more easily every day to cool, crisp evenings.
For many, the autumn weather is a perfect backdrop for the harvest festivals that usher in the winter.
One such festival is the Apple Annual, which for years was a Watsonville tradition, and a salute to a time when when the fruit dominated Pajaro Valley’s agricultural scene and the area boasted more than a million trees on 14,000 acres.
The event, which will take place Sunday, will feature food and beverages from several local providers, including S. Martinelli & Co., Monterey Bay Catering and Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria. The apples will be provided by Watsonville farms.
The Pajaro Valley Historical Association will have a table set up with Apple Annual memorabilia. Additionally, several items donated from Santa Cruz County businesses will be auctioned.
So far, organizers have sold 50 tickets, and expect about 150 people will attend the event.
“A big part of our vision is to provide a community-based venue,” said Barbara Powell, director of the Redman-Hirahara Foundation.
Powell added that the celebration has room for 300 attendees.
The festival, which was launched in 1910 by the Board of Trade and the Chamber of Commerce, honored Pajaro Valley’s apple growers. Organizers hoped to bring in $100,000 annually.
The success of the first festival exceeded expectations, with 40,000 people coming from all over the country, but after three successful years, the Apple Annual moved to San Francisco. It eventually faded away when World War I began.
The idea to bring back the Apple Annual was launched when historians learned that the owner of the Redman House — a Victorian-style manor sitting at the corner of West Beach Street and Lee Road — was involved in the early Pajaro Valley apple industry.
The celebration will be held at the Redman property, although ongoing restoration of the house will at first hinder a larger celebration.
Organizers hope to quickly finish the house and expand the property to eventually produce a family-friendly festival.
•••
The Apple Annual will be held Sunday from 2-5 p.m. at the Redman House. For information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.redmanhouse.com. Tickets may be purchased on the day of the event.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
*Photos by Tarmo Hannula, program cover courtesy of the Pajaro Valley Historical Association*
(Published in 10/10/08 edition)
posted by redmanfoundation | 10:29 AM
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