Celebrating a Rural Lifestyle at the Apple Harvest Festival

Large tractors were a common sight at the Onalaska Apple Harvest Festival’s 2016 parade.

In this Oct. 3, 2015, file photo, members of the Alpha Better Bets 4-H Club ride a float during the parade at the seventh annual Apple Harvest Festival in Onalaska.

Janet Foss, owner of J. Foss Garden Flowers, exposes the seeds of a tall sunflower plant in her garden, Wednesday afternoon in Onalaska.

A bumble bee visits J. Foss Garden Flowers Wednesday afternoon in Onalaska.

Janet Foss, owner of J. Foss Garden Flowers, plucks the leaves off a, pumpkin on a stick plant, Wednesday afternoon in Onalaska.

Janet Foss, owner of J Foss Gardens, shakes a flower of its seeds Wednesday afternoon in Onalaska.

A small pavilion in front of J Foss Gardens holding bouquets sits in the shade Wednesday afternoon in Onalaska.

Janet Foss, owner of J. Foss Gardens, points at the seeds of a flower Wednesday afternoon in Onalaska.

Janet Foss, owner of J. Foss Garden Flowers, caresses a rose in her garden Wednesday in Onalaska.

A rose sits in the property of J. Foss Garden Flowers Wednesday afternoon in Onalaska.

Parade participants march down Carlisle Avenue in Onalaska for the seventh annual Apple Harvest Festival in 2015.

Posted Tuesday, October 3, 2017 10:07 am

By Carrina Stanton / For The Chronicle

When it started nine years ago, the Onalaska Apple Harvest Festival was about bringing together a community around a common goal and a common heritage.

Today, that spirit lives on as the festival continues to grow.

This year, there will be even more opportunities to celebrate the rural lifestyle, said Cathy Murphy, president of the Onalaska Alliance, the nonprofit that sponsors the annual festival.

The ninth annual Onalaska Apple Harvest Festival takes place Oct. 5-8 in Onalaska, with the bulk of the activities focused on the weekend of Oct. 7-8. Murphy said for the last few years the Alliance board has been taking a close look at all aspects of the festival and determining what they believe is the direction that will give it the most longevity.

“The longer we do Apple Harvest Festival the more we get honed in on what we are as a festival, especially what separates us from other festivals,” Murphy said.

First and foremost, the Alliance board wanted the festival to bring people together in this rural town of about 1,000 people. From pies to cider, apples play a large part in the festival, but Murphy said as time has gone on, the festival has grown to encompass the celebration of all farm and homestead heritage and lifestyles.

“In the culture and climate of our country right now, that’s something highly prized when we can all come together and celebrate our rural lifestyle,” Murphy said.

One goal for the festival weekend was to create activities that appeal to locals while drawing visitors, especially since some of the Onalaska Alliance’s funding comes from Lewis County’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee. The Alliance has created a mixture of activities that span from Thursday through Sunday with the bulk of activities happening on Saturday.

Much of Saturday’s festivities, from the parade and local music to a food court and farmers market, take place along Carlisle Avenue in the heart of Onalaska. Much of the remainder of Saturday’s events, including a fun run and kayak and canoe races, take place at Carlisle Lake.

But historically, Sunday of Apple Harvest Festival weekend has only included an all-church service, which was only a draw for locals, Murphy said. Alliance members wanted to create a Sunday draw for visitors that might entice them to spend the night.

{{tncms-inline content="Thursday, Oct. 5 6-8 p.m. &mdash; Bingo hosted by the Onalaska Harvest Royal Court at the elementary school &nbsp; Friday, Oct. 6 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. &mdash; Plentiful Harvest Art Quilt Show at the Presbyterian Church 7:30 p.m. &mdash; Royal Court coronation &nbsp; Saturday, Oct. 7 8 a.m. &mdash; Kids Fun Run at Carlisle Lake (Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. and cost is $10 per person) 9 a.m. &mdash; 5K Apple Fun Run/ 2-mile walk at Carlisle Lake (Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. and cost is $20 per person or $10 for walk) 10 a.m. to noon &mdash; Apple Pie Contest (submit two pies by 9:30 a.m., entry fee is $2) 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. &mdash; Apple Harvest Welcome Booth at Carlisle Park 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. &mdash; Farm and market craft vendors on Carlisle Avenue 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. &mdash; Plentiful Harvest Art Quilt Show at the Onalaska Youth Center 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. &mdash; Harvest Festival Food Court at Osborne &amp; Sons 11 a.m. &mdash; &ldquo;Down on the Farm&rdquo; parade on Carlisle Avenue Noon to 3 p.m. &mdash; Kids trout fishing and aquaculture program tours at the high school Noon to 4 p.m. &mdash; KidVenture activities and fun at the elementary school Noon to 4 p.m. &mdash; Health and disaster preparation displays at Fire District No. 1 Noon to 4 p.m. &mdash; Apple cider pressing at the Community Youth Center (bring your own apples and jugs) Noon to 5 p.m. &mdash; Local live music and food court on Carlisle Avenue: Noon &ndash; Two Town Tuners; 12:45 p.m., Newaukum River Band; 2:10 p.m., apple pie auction; 2:30 p.m. The Logger Jams; and 3 p.m., The Fruity Rebels 1 p.m. &mdash; Las Estrellas Dancers in front of the food court 1 p.m. &mdash; Cornhole tournament at the elementary school playground (registration begins at noon and cost is $40 per team of two) 2 p.m. &mdash; Canoe and Kayak races at Carlisle Lake (registration starts at 1:30 p.m. and is $5) 7 p.m.&mdash; Mason Jar Main Event featuring Straight Shot at the Mason Jar Gathering Barn, 637 Leonard Road. Tickets: $7 per person at the door 7 p.m. &mdash; The Roxy Players present &ldquo;Perils of the Plains (and other foolery)&rdquo; at the middle school gym. Tickets: $10 adults, $7 children &nbsp; Sunday, Oct. 8 10:30-2 p.m. &mdash; All-area church service in the middle school gym followed by a potluck lunch Noon-4 p.m. &mdash; Farm and Homestead Tour (The Mason Jar opens at 11:30 a.m. with information and maps)" id="d8aced92-7913-44fa-8414-889b414255dc" style-type="info" title="2017 Apple Harvest Festival Schedule:" type="relcontent"}}

Drawing inspiration from the ARTrails self-guided art studio tour that took place in September, Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the Onalaska Apple Harvest Festival will feature a farm and homestead tour highlighting eight farms within a 10-mile radius of Onalaska.

Farms include MT Ranch in Chehalis, where grass-fed Hereford cattle are the business; J Foss Gardens in Onalaska, which grows more than 200 varieties of flowers for wholesale and specialty markets; Rocky Top barrel racing arena in Salkum; and Snowy Pines Bernese Mountain Dogs breeders in Onalaska.

Carol Wells, owner of Wells’ Winery, will offer a stop both for herself and the Beewrangler Honey at her Onalaska home winery. Wells, in her ninth year of business, said she was excited to be asked to participate in the tour because it is such a unique idea.

“I thought it was a wonderful idea so folks from more populated areas can get a better understanding of how we in rural areas live and survive,” Wells said. “I think it’s going to be very enlightening for folks, both local and from outside the area.”

While farm tour participants are welcome to start at any point on the tour map, the Mason Jar event center in Onalaska is the unofficial first stop on the tour, with volunteers and information available there. Maps of the open farms are also available on the Onalaska Alliance web site and in the official Onalaska Apple Harvest Festival programs.

Murphy said there are actually closer to 20 or 25 farms that fit the bill, but since the tour is only four hours long, they purposefully kept the number of farms small to give visitors a chance to visit as many as possible. While it is technically possible to visit all eight farms during the tour hours, Murphy said to really get the most out of each farm’s open houses, she recommends choosing four of the farms to visit.

Taking part in the farm tour is free of charge, but visitors can choose to buy a $5 passport that gives them not only information about all of the farms but also a chance at a drawing for a gift basket featuring items from each of this year’s featured farms. The tour day ends with a farm to table dinner that has already sold out this year, an indication to Murphy that they’re on the right track with this event already.

“I expect it to grow because there’s nothing like this is in the community,” Murphy said. “We’re very excited to host it.”

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