Heritage Apple Day is back this year to bring the Cashiers community another thrilling activity for the spring season. Hosted by the Cashiers Historical Society, the event is free and open to the public and will be held on April 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Unlike previous years, where the event was held at the community building in Cashiers, this year’s Heritage Apple Day will be held at the Cashiers Historical Society on 1940 Highway 107 South.
“We really want this year to be fun and a celebration. And so, we’ll have a few different things here going on,” Golcheski added.
For those that will be attending the event, they will be greeted by a plethora of offerings from the Cashiers Historical Society. Of these offerings include apple grafting, cider making and a beekeeping demonstration. An apple baking contest will also be held alongside a demonstration on how to care and prune for apple trees.
Music will also be presented at the event by Young Mountain Magic. Golcheski also said that there will be additional activities also available to children attending the event.
“Yes. We’ll have crafts for kids. We’ll have story time for kids. We’ll have that baking contest, which means lots of sweets for kids. And of course, people will be allowed to tour the Zachary Talbert house and see the campus is at CHS,” Golcheski added.
Food will also be available at the event, most of which most fittingly will be apple themed, such as apple cider, tying into the overall event.
“We’ll have baked goods. Part of that apple baking contest means once judges have tried everything, then it’s open to everyone else to try. So, I’ll have lots and lots of sweet treats, which should be good, as well as apple cider, where visitors can press the cider,” she said.
Speaking on the event’s relevance to the community in Cashiers, Golcheski noted the importance that apples have to the region’s cultural history, with farming and agriculture being integral to the prosperity of North Carolina.
“Prior to paved roads and prior to a national highway system, this was a tough place to get to. And so, people really relied on growing their own food to survive. Heritage Apple Day is just kind of a celebration of that part of our history,” she said.
Over time, tourism replaced agriculture as the main source of income to the community, ac-cording to Golcheski. However, she noted that Heritage Apple Day remains as a celebration of the rich history that contributed to the area.
“The goal is to celebrate the history of agriculture in the Cashiers Valley. And for a long time, agriculture was the primary economic driver for this area,” said Amelia Golcheski, executive director of the Cashiers Historical Society.
Speaking on what she is most excited for with Heritage Apple Day, Golcheski noted she looks forward to seeing the joy it will bring to the community, and the sense of community that it can bring to Cashiers.
“I’m excited to see people interact with the Cashiers Historical Society,” she said. “I am also excited for the apple baking contest. I think that will be a lot of fun, and I’m hoping I’ll walk away from Heritage Apple Day this year with a few new recipes to try out at home.”
Golcheski said that the biggest takeaway that she hopes attendees have from the event is that it will encourage more people to visit the campus at the Cashiers Historical Society and help them become more aware of the programming that they have to offer.
“I hope people come to our campus, see all that we are doing, explore our historic building and want to come back. CHS is a special place, and I hope visitors walk away believing that too.” she said.