Apples Will be Celebrated in Hamilton

The annual McIntosh Apple Day is one of the biggest fall gatherings in the Bitterroot every year. This Saturday, October 5, the Ravalli County Museum will be surrounded by the sights, tastes and smells of fresh apples, apple cider, apple butter and apple pies. Celebrating the historical period in the valley known as the Apple Boom, the Ravalli County Museum and Historical Society expand the morning Hamilton Farmers Market to include many more vendors and then make sure that handcrafted local apple pies and jugs of apple cider are available for sale. Recently, a new feature has been added, BBQ pork with Apple Chutney. Then, there's the music and the hourly raffle drawings and fresh apples to chomp on from local orchards. Many of those orchards were planted in the 1900s during a huge land promotion in the Bitterroot with the resulting McIntosh Apple being the star of the harvests. All ages enjoy Apple Day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m..

Then, the adults (21 and over) come on back for Liquid Apple Night, where many of the popular hard apple ciders are sampled, along with local craft beers, too. Liquid Apple Night starts at 5 p.m. with live music and those ever-popular burn barrels for the possibly cold weather. Proceeds from the day help the Ravalli County Museum continue its role of archive and educator of Bitterroot Valley history. The museum is at the corner of South 3rd and Bedford in Hamilton. Call (406) 363-3338.