As I approached the Commons, the harmonic violin melody greeted me at the entrance to the Commons. This was just the beginning of the 39th annual Apple Harvest Festival, which takes place at Ithaca Commons from Friday October 1 to Sunday October 3 this year. Throughout the House of Commons, the smell of apple cider, kettle popcorn and fried food permeated the air and mingled with wet rain. This was my first Apple Fest experience and it just encouraged me to visit each stall to check out the candy apples and local goodies brought in by the merchants.
The main area of the House of Commons focused solely on apple products such as homemade applesauce, apple donuts, and local cider. My first stop was the apple crumble booth, which already had a line around the tent. For $7 I was able to get a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream, garnished with a warm scoop of apples – I wasn’t disappointed. The first bite is filled with applesauce and cinnamon, mixed with apple crumbs, and all finished with cold vanilla ice cream. The addiction was an understatement. Within a few minutes, I was able to finish the entire bowl, which made me crave even more.
I proceeded to peruse the arts and crafts stalls, where local vendors were selling a variety of products such as eco-friendly T-shirts, flavored peanut butter, and crystals. On the other side was a section full of food carts, dedicated to selling hot meals like Silo’s famous macaroni and cheese, potato pancakes and pumpkin cake.
I then moved on to looking at the carnival-themed stalls across the street. Not only were there typical fair gifts, such as cotton candy and caramel apples, there were also many carnival activity booths such as balloon popping. It was a surreal moment to see such sustenance and color amid the streets of Ithaca on a rainy day. I quickly queued up for dessert apples, dipped in homemade caramel, all finished with whipped cream on top. The light bitterness of apple mixed with sweet caramel was the perfect end to my day.
Overall, my experience at Apple Fest was filled with awe, and it was a pleasure to see friends and families walking around, eating desserts and having a good time. I hope to return every year during my time in Cornell, knowing that my bowl of apples will fall apart waiting for me, hot and sweet.
Grace Kim is a sophomore in the School of Hotel Management. It can be accessed at [email protected]