Vermont Apple Orchard - Shelburne Orchards

Check out the images
of the first run of our
new still!

…to Shelburne Orchards. Our 80 acres of apple trees, of which 10 acres are organic, are located on the shores of Lake Champlain in Shelburne, Vermont. The orchard has been in my family since the 1950's and I have been overseeing the place for about 30 years.
Nick Cowles, Proprietor

Hours
Monday-Saturday 9:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
Sunday 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.

Pick Your Own Prices
$5 for 5 lbs.
$20 per 1/2 bushel
$30 per bushel
$9 for a bushel on Senior Citizens' Days

2009 Season Events

Sunday, September 13
8th Annual Small Farms Food Fest
11 a.m.-5 p.m.
A day of taste-testing delicacies from local farms & food producers, live music, hayrides, and more family-friendly activities! We'll showcase Amy's Granola, Bloomfield Farm, Charlotte Village Winery, Dragonfly Sugarworks, Folks Foods,Good Companion Bakery, Island Homemade Ice Cream, Kingdom Mountain Maple, Maple Wind Farm, Millborne Farm, Nitty Gritty Grain Company of Vermont, NOFA's Vermont Farmers' Fare, O Bread Bakery, Rockville Market Farm, Shelburne Farms, Shelburne Orchards, Shelburne Vineyard, Sonia's Salsa, Stony Loam Farm, Stony Pond Farm, Tamarack Hollow Farm, Taylor Farm, Vadeboncoeur Nougat, Vermont Coffee Company, Vermont Pickle, Windy Corners Farm, and more!

Educational booths will include American Farmland Trust, Bike Recycle, CarShare Vermont, Intervale Compost, Local Motion, Rural Vermont, and Vermont Fresh Network.
go here for more info...

Tuesday, September 15
Apple Season Kick-off
4:00-6:00 p.m.
This event kicks off the "Apples to iPods" program sponsored by Vermont Department of Tourism and Small Dog Electronics. We'll feature goodies from our orchard, Woodchuck Cider, and cheese from Shelburne Farms and there will be live music. Wooden apples will be hidden in various apple orchards throughout the state. If you find the wooden apple, you'll win an iPod!

Saturday, September 26
Ringo Matsuri -Taiko In the Orchard
11 a.m.-noon, kids groups & Taiko students
1-4 p.m., Burlington Taiko and visiting Taiko groups from Canada and North America
An informal gathering of Taiko groups from Vermont and beyond! The Orchard Cafe and Cider House Farm Market will be open for eats and drinks.
www.burlingtontaiko.org

Sunday, September 27
8th Annual Cider House Run & Pie Fest
11a.m.-4 p.m.
Start the day with a run through the orchard. Then you can enter, enjoy, or eat the homemade apple pies in the Pie Fest!
go here for more info...

Month of September
Vermont Foodbank and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture are sponsoring a "Pick for Your Neighbor" program. People can pick apples at the orchard and donate them to the program---we'll store them and the Foodbank will pick up the apples. Thanks for sharing!

Sunday, October 4
City Market Harvest Celebration
at 82 North Winooski Avenue, Burlington
12 noon-4 p.m.
863-3659
Stop by, visit Nick, and taste some Ginger Jack, our specialty non-alcoholic drink.

Tuesday, October 6
Send Some Vermont Day
We'll be shipping a bit of Vermont to anyone you'd like! We'll send apples and cheese, and you'll get the thanks!

Here are the options:
$29 to send 12 McIntosh apples or
$38 to ship 10 McIntosh apples and 8 ounces of Shelburne Farms cheddar cheese
These prices include shipping. Please call 985-2753 to place an order.

Sunday, October 11
"Run Like the Wind"
2-mile and 4-mile walk/run for the entire family
10:00 Registration begins (there will be entry forms at school/around town for pre-registration)
11:00 Walk/Run begins
$10 per person or $35 per family
Come pick apples, pack a picnic, and watch the run!
Benefits the Shelburne Community School Wind Ensemble
Please contact Laureen at 985-5296 or mathon4@myfairpoint.net for further information.
The Ensemble is a group of over 70 musically talented 6th, 7th and 8th graders who auditioned and were selected to be part of this band. The Wind Ensemble has been invited to perform at Disney World in March 2010. Their commitment continues, with countless hours of practice, under the leadership of Mr. David Myers.

Sunday, October 11
Tractor Parade
at Spear's Corner Store
Baptist Corner, East Charlotte
1 p.m.
425-4444

Thursday, October 15 & Friday, October 16
Senior Citizens' Days
9 a.m.-6 p.m.
If you're old enough, a bushel of Pick Your Own apples costs only $9!

Saturday, October 17
9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Truckload & Ginger Jack & Carboy Saturday
Fill your truck with Pick Your Own apples for $50 and/or check out some of our recipes made with our very own Ginger Jack and/or fill up your carboy for the long, cold winter.

We've finished our movie, thanks to Ken Peck and Isaac Lane!
Titled "Not Far From the Tree", this film's about a community celebration at our annual Small Farms Food Fest and the 'Buy Local' movement that continues to grow around the country. In short, Nick wants to "inspire other communities to celebrate where their food comes from".

During the season, our hours are:
Monday-Saturday 9am-6pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Shelburne Orchards events for 2008 included:

For photos of current and past events
please visit or archives section

7th Annual Small Farms Food Fest
Sunday, September 14, 2008
11:00-5:00
Wow! That's the first word that comes to mind after yesterday's 7th Annual Small Farms Food Fest. The day began with rain and lots of wind, but cleared in time for a really spectacular event. It almost felt like summertime again with all of that humid sunshine!

All of these amazing farms and food vendors came with their delicacies: Amy's Granola, Bloomfield Farm, Charlotte Village Winery, Dragonfly Sugarworks, Folk Foods, Good Companion Bakery, Kingdom Mountain Maple, Lakes End Cheeses and Shoreline Chocolates, Maple Wind Farm, Nitty Grain Company of Vermont, NOFA-VT, Shelburne Farms and O Bread Bakery, Shelburne Vineyard, Snake Ridge Foods, Sonia's Salsa, Stony Loam Farm, Stony Pond Farm, Tamarack Hollow Farm, Taylor Farm, Two Sweet Acres, Vadeboncoeur Nougat, Vermont Coffee Company, Vermont Soy Company, Windy Corners Farm, and of course, Shelburne Orchards. We had everything from grass-fed cheeseburgers to sugar-on-snow to wine or cheese tasting to soy smoothies powered by a bicycle---and everything in-between! The smell in the air was tempting all day long.

The music was fabulous with the following bands: Magnolias; Meat Packers (does Nick really look like Neil Young?!); Red Thread; Stone, Coane, and Sacher; and The On the Rise Session Band. And we added an educational piece with displays by Bike Recycle and Local Motion; CarShare Vermont; Chittenden Solid Waste District and programs about composting and recycling; Efficiency Vermont and the Vermont Small Scale Renewable Energy Incentive Program; High Mowing Seeds; and the Youth Wellness Initiative. Apple picking, tractor hayrides, facepainting, ropemaking, apple prints, our haybale maze, and the chance to watch or try a hand at juggling rounded out the day nicely.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the 25 farmers and food producers, 5 bands and musicians, 72 volunteers, 8 educational booth vendors, 20 Shelburne Orchards workers, Art & Pat Blair for their ropemaking display, Bob Blair & Jeremy Bessette for manning the tractor hayrides, Phin Sonin & Emmett Dooley for their circus arts talent, and 3,000 visitors who spent part of their day right here at the orchard!

We wish you a Happy Harvest as you support local farmers and musicians. We collected 201 pounds of food for the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf.

7th Annual Cider House Run & Pie Fest
Sunday, September 28, 2008
11:00-4:00
We had bakers, eaters, and runners at the 7th Annual Pie Fest & Cider House Run! This year, we were honored to have Bob Blumer, Host of the Food Network's internationally acclaimed show, "Glutton for Punishment", in town with his very special crew from Vancouver, British Columbia. With much input from local experts of every ilk, he tried to bake the perfect apple pie in the hopes of winning 1st prize. Judges Barb Bardin, Michael Benoit, and Louis Manno tasted all of the pies carefully while scoring them on crust, overall appearance, filling, and the premiere "Apple of My Eye Pie". Millie Morris of Underhill won both the First Place "Apple of My Eye Pie" and "Best Crust". Susan Blood of Charlotte won "Best Overall Appearance". Dana Murphy of Charlotte won "Best Filling". And Bob was delighted (almost ecstatic even) to come in 3rd in the competition!

Special thanks to:

Bonnie Chung, Will Morrison, and Shane Geddes for flying in from all over the world and putting up with all of us for part of the week prior to the Pie Fest
Dan Mazur and Isaac Lane, local talent who helped the crew out while they were in town
Barb, Michael, and Louis for judging
The Hokum Brothers for providing great entertainment throughout the day
Volunteers Colleen McCabe, Beth Krueger, Patricia Fontaine, Andrea Tieso, and Ian's parents
All of the pie bakers
The Field House Athletic Club for hosting the Cider House Run
Kevin Clayton, for his constant and quiet help at every turn
Burlington Free Press staff Melissa Pasanen & Sara Buscher, Channel 3's Kate Duffy, Channel 5's Matt Gerien, Seven Days' Suzanne Podhaizer, and Shelburne News' Margo Callahan & Danielle Frawley for all of their coverage
And always, the delightful staff at the orchard

Stay tuned for the "Glutton for Punishment" episode which will air sometime in 2009---we'll let you know!

Senior Citizens' Days
Thursday & Friday, October 16 & 17, 2008
9:00-6:00
If you're old enough, it'll cost you only $6 a bushel for Pick Your Own apples!

Truckload & Ginger Jack Saturday
October 18, 2008
9:00-6:00
Bring your truck in and fill it up with Pick Your Own apples for only $50! Stop by to taste-test recipes made with Ginger Jack. And we'll be doing a special apple pressing for hard cider---bring your own 5-gallon carboy in and we'll fill it for $25 or you can get a carboy and starter kit at the Cider House Market. You can even drop your carboy off ahead of time, if that's easier. Please call Nick at 985-2753 for more details.

Children's Programs
Our program runs from early September to early or mid-October on Monday and Thursday mornings. Kids get a tour of the orchard operations, pick some apples, and eat cider doughnuts. Cost is $5.00 per person. Please call us at 985-2753 to sign up.

For the enjoyment of everyone, please leave your pets at home!
The orchard's a smoke-free environment.

We are well known for our award-winning growing programs, including 400 trees in our certified organic apple orchard section. The balance of our orchard is very similar to the organic program, but involves a small number of control methods which keep the business sustainable.

We invite you to view some of the Vermont products that we carry at our Cider House Farm Market during the harvest season.

In addition to our unique setting, we offer special activities for folks of all ages. Join us for the Children's Educational Programs, Senior Citizens' Days, the Vermont Small Farms Food Fest, Pick Your Own, Pie Fest & Cider House Run, and Vermont & Truckload Saturday among others!

There's just nothing like biting into an crunchy apple while standing in an orchard in the autumn--- cheers to simple pleasures!

Please check the Events page for more info about other great activities this season!

photo credits: Stephen Brooks, Brett Carpenter, Kevin Clayton, Cindy Cowles, Brent Harrewyn, Terry Hotaling, Amie Humphrey, David Humphrey, Megan Humphrey, Nick Seifert, Tucker Watson, and Natalie Stultz

Shelburne Orchards | 216 Orchard Road | Shelburne VT 05482
(p) 802-985-2753 | (f) 802-985-8763
info@shelburneorchards.com
Nick Cowles, Proprietor