Springfield based Artifact Cider Project will celebrate its one-year anniversary with a block party on September 19. The free, family-friendly event will take place from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. rain or shine and feature tastings of the full line of draft ciders, including an exclusive anniversary cider available only that day.
"The special anniversary cider is a surprise but here's a sneak peak: it's an unfiltered rustic blend of impossible to find heritage apples. We only have enough for one day's worth of cider," said Mazar.
Draft pours of New World, Colrain, Buzzworthy, High Hops and Wild Thing will be $5 each. The Wheelhouse Farm Truck will offer arepa sandwiches made with local, seasonal ingredients and Holyoke Hummus Company will serve up hot and tasty falafel sandwiches. Velma's Wicked Delicious Kettle Corn will scoop shareable snacks and Springfield's Sidecar Bakery will have Big Easy-inspired beignets. All food will run from $3 to $8.
Four local bands will perform, Great Smokey, Carinae, The No No's, and the Manfort Mansion Band. A second venue hosted by neighbors Perfect Sound Stage, at 300 Albany Street, will showcase additional performers.
"Mostly we wanted really high quality bands that people could listen to when drinking high quality cider. All four bands are incredibly talented and have their own vibe and style," said Mazar.
"We were originally just planning on some simple background music, but with two stages and incredibly gifted performers, it's shaping up to be a pretty formidable concert."
Mazar shared his thoughts on the the secret to Artifact Cider Project's success during its first year: a little bit of luck and a whole lot of good apples.
"The Western Massachusetts community has been incredibly supportive of what we are trying to do. Everyone, from the local orchards we work with to Valley Venture Mentors, has played an instrumental role in helping us get off the ground. Artifact was founded by two friends, but it took a lot of outside help and generosity to get us to where we are now," he said.
Mazar and childhood pal Soham Bhatt participated in this year's highly competitive Valley Venture Mentor's Accelerator Program and won a $20,000 grant to grow their business to the next level.
Every batch of hard cider produced to date has been sold out and production has increased ten-fold. They are currently at work with apples from the 2015 harvest season and excited about upcoming ciders and collaborations, including one with Amherst's High Horse Brewing.
"We're also doing some single varietal ciders that will be pretty unique and special. One of the best things about small batch production is that it allows us to be very experimental and do things larger companies cannot," said Mazar.
Artifact Cider Project is located at 270 Albany Street in Springfield. To learn more about the cidery and its upcoming block party celebration, visit artifactcider.com.