This is part of an occasional series by the Sanpete Country Travel and Utah Heritage Highway 89 Alliance on the people and places along U.S. Highway 89.

Celebration to Honor the Apple of Everyone’s Eye

One of the world’s all-time favorite fruits will have its day once again in Mt. Pleasant during the annual Celebration of the Apple Oct. 23 from noon to 6 p.m. at Native Wines, 72 S. 500 West.

The annual event was started by Native Wines owners Bob Sorenson and Winnie Wood to honor one of their favorite wine ingredients: the apple. Native Wines is renowned for making unfiltered wine from local fruits picked from wild trees and shrubs in the mountains and valleys of central Utah. The fall celebration has become another tradition for Native Wines, which also spearheaded the annual Rhubarb Festival held each May.

This year’s Celebration of the Apple will include more than 50 kinds of heirloom apples for sampling, along with dozens of different homemade pies, apple cider, apple butter and apple wine. Special events that day include the “The Splitting O the Apple” at noon, which kicks off the festival, and a World’s Best Apple Pie contest at 3 p.m., judged by a panel of “experts.”

There will also be a “Ugliest Witch in the West” contest, with cash prizes awarded for both children and adults. Sign up for the contest at the Country Squire at 74 West Main Street or at Native Wines. Other activities that day include wine and cheese tasting, offerings from the Loose Caboose, live Irish folk music, and a 6 p.m. pig roast.

The festival is also supported by the Mt. Pleasant Main Street Committee, Sanpete Travel and Heritage Council, Far West Bank and Wells Fargo Bank. For more information, contact Native Wines at (435) 462-9261.

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