Anticipation was in the air as we joined other families arriving at Cloud Mountain Farm Center for the second day of their Fall Fruit Festival. Almost immediately my grandson was recruited to try turning the wheel on the apple chopper for the hand cider press. The fun was underway! Continue Reading
| October 1, 2011 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 5:00 pm |
| October 2, 2011 | ||
| 11:00 am | to | 4:00 pm |
If you’ve never been to one of Cloud Mountain’s Fall Fruit Festivals, next weekend is an opportunity to share the joy! If you’ve been to one before, we’ll see you there!
Cloud Mountain Farm Center, located at 6906 Goodwin Rd., east of Everson, will be hosting their 22nd Annual Fruit Festival, Saturday, October 1 from 10am-5pm, and on Sunday, October 2 from 11am – 4pm. Fruit sampling of over 200 varieties of apples, European and Asian pears, kiwis, table and wine grapes, cider, and jams and jellies of unusual small fruits will take place throughout both days. Continue Reading
Category : Events, On the Farm
| October 2, 2011 | ||
| 4:30 pm | to | 7:30 pm |
As a grand finale for Cloud Mountain Farm’s two-day Fall Fruit Festival, Ciao Thyme is teaming up with the new Cloud Mountain Farm Center for a farm dinner to remember! Dining will begin with appetizers and wine in the orchard. Then, everyone will gather at the table for a 5-course seasonal feast with a menu that features fruits and vegetables from Cloud Mountain Farm and wines from northwest vintners. Come early and taste nearly 200 varieties of fruits and learn about the new non-profit farm center at the festival, which runs from 11am-4pm on Sunday. Continue Reading
Category : Farm Stands, Retail Stores
Cool shade and a nice breeze were a welcome relief when we arrived at Field of Greens, a cooperative farm stand in Everson. Owner Joy Monjure was also welcoming, and invited us to look around.
Joy explained that this was the second season Field of Greens has been open. Joy worked for the City of Bellingham for 23 years, but was laid off in 2009 as part of budget cutbacks. Though it was a shock at the time, she said she gradually began to see it as an opportunity, and started planning her farm stand business. Continue Reading
Crisp fall morning air and bright sunshine set the tone for a delightful visit to BelleWood Acres. Accompanied by several Whatcom Locavore blog readers, we met farmer Dorie Belisle for a guided tour just as her farm store was opening.
Dorie and John Belisle own 62 acres of former dairy land near Lynden, half of which is planted in apple orchards. Their 25,000 trees produce 1.4 million pounds of fruit every year. Continue Reading
You’re all invited for a local (short) road trip!
Dorie Belisle of BelleWood Acres farm near Lynden has invited Whatcom Locavore to tour the farm next Sunday, October 17, and she suggested we invite our readers to come along! Here’s Dorie’s description of what we’ll do during the visit:
“You would learn how our apples are grown, packed and processed. We would taste several of the value added products we make including our Cider, Syrup, and Vinegar, our home ground peanut butter, dehydrated apple chips, and of course our pies, pastries and cookies.”
For a preview of what you’ll see, check out the farm’s website. The farm store is also open on Sundays, so you’ll have an opportunity to do a little local shopping after the tour, if you like.
We’ll be meeting at BelleWood Acres on Sunday, October 17 at 10a.m. in front of the farm store. There is no charge for the tour. Here are the directions from Dorie:
“We are just 6 miles north on the Guide [Meridian]. Turn right at the first round about which is Ten Mile Road. We are a quarter mile down on the right. You will see the apple on the barn roof.”
Here’s a Google map showing the farm’s location at 231 Ten Mile Road near Lynden.
Hope you’ll join us! It should be a lot of fun!
Cloud Mountain Farm (6906 Goodwin Rd. near Everson) recently hosted their annual Fall Fruit Festival, and we were among the first to arrive Saturday morning. I’d been looking forward all summer to tasting over 200 varieties of apples and other fruit and vegetables grown by Cheryl and Tom Thornton, the farm owners, and their hard-working staff. Continue Reading
Finding locally grown organic food can be a fascinating treasure hunt, but it also can be time consuming, especially at first. Here are some food finding tips to help jumpstart your locavore lifestyle:
1. Start close to home.
You may have noticed that I mention some farms more frequently than others. That’s because they are the best sources I’ve found close enough to my normal errand routes to be convenient. My goal is to find the quality I want as close to home as possible. I go to Half Acre Farm for u-picking vegetables, but you may be able to locate a u-pick you like closer to where you live. Continue Reading
Category : August, Menu Ideas, U-Pick Farms
People often think eating locally grown organic food is expensive. That can be true of some products, but there are nearly always ways to keep costs in line. For example, you can pick produce yourself and pay less. Many small farms in Whatcom County have u-pick operations. Continue Reading
Anyone who lives in Whatcom County has probably eaten some food produced by the dedicated people at Cloud Mountain Farm near Everson. Have you eaten at Nimbus, Prospect Street Cafe, or Boundary Bay? Enjoyed some of the exotic fruit flavors in Mallard’s ice cream? Some of the ingredients you ate were almost certainly grown at Cloud Mountain Farm. Continue Reading
