Autumn is quickly approaching: in two weeks, Carkeek Park will host the annual Festival of Fruit with cider pressing, an apple pie contest, live music and guided tours of the historic orchard. The festival will be on Saturday, September 15 from 10am to 2pm at the Nancy Malmgren Environmental Center (950 NW Carkeek Park Rd).

The free event will kick off with the apple pie contest. Entries for homemade apple pies must be in by 10am, with options to buy pieces of the pies after the winners are announced. There will be a fresh pressed cider stand, with the opportunity for visitors to get their hands dirty on old-fashioned presses. They’ll also have apple experts on hand if you’ve always wondered variety your home apple trees grow.

If you don’t want to enter the contest but still have a knack for making homemade pies, consider donating your creations to the Tillie’s Cafe, which will be selling slices to raise money for ongoing orchard maintenance.

There will also be orchard tours happening throughout the festival, heirloom apple tasting from the orchard, kids’ crafts, live musics and a master gardener clinic.

The Festival of Fruit is put on by The Friends of Piper’s Orchard, a group of volunteers who rescued the historic North Seattle orchard from invasive plants. Their annual festival helps raise awareness and funds to help keep the orchard, planted in the 1890s, alive.

The Festival is sponsored by Friends of Piper’s Orchard, Seattle Parks and Recreation, Carkeek Park Advisory Council, Seattle Tree Fruit Society and City Fruit.

Photo from Friends of Piper’s Orchard