On Saturday, Sept. 22 and Sunday, Sept. 23, Broom Orchard held its 50th anniversary apple picking festival. Broom Orchard is one of the largest fruit orchards in the area. This annual apple festival had a petting zoo, corn maze, live music, food, a market and apples.
The orchard displayed many apples; including Fuji, Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Jonagold and Jonathan apples.
Owners Lisa and Jeff Broom hold this festival and a pumpkin festival every fall. They both harvest fresh apples and pumpkins and make their own jelly. The Brooms bag the fruit and sell it to the public, rather than a grocery store.
Jeff Broom told the story of the orchard and his lifestyle. “I have worked in the orchard business for about 50 years. My parents bought the orchard when I was in second grade, and I was able to work with my parents. I married Lisa and had three kids and we all work there as a family tradition,” said Broom. He enjoys the freedom of being able to raise fruit and try new varieties. He enjoys having regular customers and serving them. “My wife, Lisa, runs and takes care of jelly, crafts, honey and decorating the orchard,” he said, explaining how everyone does their part.
There were many vendors across from the Broom Orchard market that had clothes, decorations, food and accessories. Scentsy consultant Connie Price has been selling products for six years. Price enjoys the scents, smells and indoor warmers used to heat things. Price attends a variety of fairs and events. This is her first year at the apple festival and she has decided she will continue attending it annually. “I love the family-oriented environment and watching all the kids having a fun time,” said Price.
There were many tasty treats such as pies, hot dogs, burgers and more. Other vendors included LulaRoe, Scentsy and many more. Most of the kids were playing in the corn maze and hanging out in the petting zoo. The animals in the petting zoo were goats, horses, a camel and a pig. The apple festival was a great way to kick off the start of the fall season.