Hop on a Ferry for the Inaugural ‘Bowen Apple Harvest Festival’, Oct. 1-2

There’s a new family-run cidery on Bowen Island called Bowen Cider House, and they’re giving us a pretty good excuse to hop on a ferry to check them out sooner versus later…by hosting the first ever Bowen Apple Harvest Festival, October 1st and 2nd.

Not only will this be the first Apple Harvest Festival, it will also be the first time the Cider House opens their doors to the public (they have so far only been open by appointment, Monday and Tuesday). This year’s inaugural festival kicks off with the Cider House’s Official Opening (Saturday, October 1st) including loads of apple-y fun – from guided orchard tours to cider pressing and tastings, and an apple pie contest.

So much cider and fresh autumn air is bound to work up your appetite…which is why it’s nice that the first day of the festival culminates in a Long Table Harvest Dinner featuring a menu of seasonally-inspired comfort foods: apple cider onion soup; wood fire roasted pig with plum apple chutney; braised lamb with parsnip celeriac puree, smoked yoghurt & pickled apples; harvest mushroom medley; and local produce (plus more ciders, from both the Cider House and their neighbours at Riley’s Cidery). Tickets ($125 each) for the dinner are going quickly, though, so arrange yours STAT by emailing [email protected] (same goes if you’ve got an apple pie recipe in your back pocket that you think deserves a shot in the daytime’s competition).

Stick around overnight, or zip over the following day (Sunday, October 2nd) when the tours and tastings continue, with the addition of a new cider release and a traditional Danish pancake breakfast at the Cider House to fill up with beforehand. All around, it sounds like a pretty ideal introduction to the Bowen Cider House, and a great way to spend the second weekend of autumn! Keep an eye on the @bowen_events Instagram feed for updates and more info.