Photos: Cider Fest 2019 at Bloomington Community Orchard

On Saturday, Bloomington Community Orchard hosted its annual Cider Fest at the fenced-off grove next to Winslow Woods Park, just before Highland Avenue curves west around the Winslow Sports Complex.

The afternoon featured cider pressing, face painting, poetry reading, and an introduction to the orchard’s bee hive.

The orchard’s plantings include more than just apple, pear and peach trees. Some of the zinnias still had enough appeal left on Saturday to attract a pair of monarch butterflies, which were flitting around in the background of Cider Fest.

What’s the connection to local government? First, the community orchard, which for the next year will be celebrating its 10th anniversary, is planted on city-owned land.

And the hand-cranked cider press used to squeeze juice out of the apples was sourced from just-retired city forester Lee Hess.

The Beacon dropped by Cider Fest long enough to take some photos. Here they are:

Cider Pressing

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Butterflies