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GREENFIELD –Take your pick of a peck of activities as the 21st annual CiderDays returns to Franklin County Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 7-8.
But just remember these words of advice from Peter C. N. Mitchell, owner of Headwater Cider in Hawley: "The best way to tick off a cider maker is to ask them, 'How do you brew your cider?'"
Cider is fermented like wine; beer is brewed, explained the participant in CiderDays who will run tours of his orchard and mill on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
At CiderDays there will be dozens of free workshops and activities for backyard orchardists, home brewers, apple lovers and families as well as hard-cider tasting at the Cider Salon and a harvest supper of locally grown foods. Add to that orchard tours, an apple festival, chef demonstrations, cider and cheese pairing and an amateur cider competition.
These events and more take place throughout Franklin County.
Some local restaurants are by offering cider or apple specials that weekend.
Mitchell said CiderDays is an opportunity for participating orchards to showcase their orchards, products and events in Franklin County with its "great apple-growing history through several hundred years."
New to CiderDays this year is Breton cider tasting with French cider specialist and author Mark Gleonec as well as other workshops with renowned apple experts like John Bunker who will present a workshop on heritage apple varieties.
What began as a small festival in Colrain by a few cider makers - Terry and Judith Maloney from West County Cider and cider maker friend Paul Correnty - has branched out 19 locations throughout Massachusetts' most rural county.
"Throughout the years, the festival attracted the participation of more and more cider makers and word got out that it was the gathering to not only meet others doing the same but a place to learn tricks of the trade," said Lisa B. Davol, marketing and membership manager for the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce and CiderDays event organizer. "It was so successful that it eventually morphed into the U.S. Cider Makers Association to really focus on issues important to cider makers."
Franklin County has a critical mass of destinations and businesses that have a unique contribution to make to a festival revolving around apples.
"In addition to bringing people to the event, one of our goals as a regional tourism bureau is to get visitors out onto the back country roads and into businesses they otherwise might not know are here," Davol said.
Each location is responsible for creating a way to tie into the event, and the chamber helps market their offerings. "And since there is so much to offer, different types of visitors can benefit," she said. There are family-friendly things happening like the events at New Salem Orchards as well as hard cider and cheese pairings also happening which may interest another segment of visitors.
Businesses rally around the cider/apple theme and benefit from joint marketing dollars to bring people into their establishments, many for the first time. Local cider producers report CiderDays as one of their biggest sales event of the year.
Mitchell appreciates the diversity of cider that is being produced. "For a long time, there were just a few commercial companies that essentially made apple soda pop," he said. "It drank almost like soda."
He said the beauty of cider is that is requires only a few ingredients, "but you can do such wonderful things with them."
The taste of the cider is based on the type of apples used, the method of fermentation and the flavors added, if any.
Davol attributed CiderDays' success to the fact that it is ever evolving, it is on the forefront of cider, it takes place in the part of the country where cider's history is rich, and it provides -- up until recently -- the largest cider tasting in the world with more than 75 brands represented for public tasting. "It has been referred to as a 'mecca' for any serious cider maker," she said. "In large part due to CiderDays, cider festivals have sprung up all over the country and some of the venues have surpassed our capacity to offer more ciders and visitors. While we are no longer the largest, we are still the longest running."
And as the longest-running hard cider festival in the country, CiderDays organizers have been dedicated from the beginning to reviving interest in this historic beverage, supporting orchardists and cider makers in their craft and bringing people together to learn about and enjoy this fruit and tradition.
CiderDays leads visitors on a path throughout the county with numerous opportunities "to stumble upon breathtaking views, artists' studios and charming town centers along the way," Davol said.
For more information, a downloadable schedule and tickets go online to ciderdays.org.