Cider Days
Lakewood Foothills Rotary was privileged once again to participate in Lakewood’s Cider Days celebration, held the first week of October annually.
This annual event includes booths serving cider by the glass or gallon. Festival-goers can also bring apples (or buy them at the event) and use antique presses to make fresh apple cider to take home.
Lakewood Foothills Rotary contributes nearly 200 volunteer hours to operate the cider pressing booth. This includes supervising visitors who may use the antique presses to process their own apples. The presses are also used by Rotarians to process apples and provide over 3000 samples of cider to festival attendees.
The antique presses, which are over a hundred years old, were refurbished by Cultural Center volunteers, including Lakewood Foothills Rotary member Russ Gleason.
Lakewood’s Cider Days is the longest-running community oriented festival in the City of Lakewood. Every year, it brings thousands of area residents to enjoy the food, music, art, and history of their community.
In the first part of the 20th century, apple trees were so common in the area that one hill was known as "Cider Hill," lending its name to the event.
The Lakewood Historical Society started Cider Days in the 1970s as a special lunch program to honor the settlers of the land that would become the City of Lakewood, and the City has carried on the tradition. Since inception, Cider Days has grown to include a variety of food vendors, stage performers, family activities and historic exhibits and demonstrations.
For more information about Cider Days, please visit the Lakewood City Website.