Building Delicious Community, One Apple at a Time

For five years, the cider press has been an October tradition on South Whidbey. Started in the fall of 2019 to introduce the community to the newly-formed Woodhaven High School, the event has grown over the years to a collaborative festival that brings people together for music, family events, a prescription drug take-back opportunity, and the chance to interact with numerous county organizations and local nonprofits.

Each year, planning begins well in advance of the event, from organizing sponsors to harvesting local apples. Preparations began in May among the organizing entities: Woodhaven High School, South Whidbey CARES Coalition, Slow Food Whidbey Island, Readiness To Learn, and Island County Human Services and Public Health.

Aside from one year during the COVID-19 pandemic when the presses were still, the annual event had been going strong. But this year’s festival faced an unexpected challenge: gusts above 30 miles per hour the previous evening. When morning brought no reprieve from the wind, organizers made the difficult decision to cancel the public-facing portion of the event scheduled to take place at the South Whidbey Community Center. 

“The wind storm certainly threw a wrench in things this year,” said Marli Jenkins, Woodhaven High School administrator. “We were very sad to have canceled the Fall Festival and the public portion of the press at such a late hour.”

But that didn’t deter the more than 20 dedicated volunteers, who came prepared for a day of washing, slicing, and pressing the five pallets of apples gathered from local trees. “Apples were picked all over South Whidbey,” said Jenkins. “Having such a variety of apples makes for amazingly delicious cider. Many of the apples we harvest are from heritage apple trees, some of which have been around for nearly one hundred years.” 

“I love seeing the different generations
working together.”

And although the event no longer featured a public-facing festival, the cider press was still a success. 

“Even with the difficult weather, Woodhaven families and community friends showed up and pulled off the pressing. We had all those apples and they needed to be processed,” said Jenkins. “There were lots of people who came by and enjoyed the fruits of the labor. We donated several gallons to the South Whidbey Homeless Coalition and also to a few other gatherings that were happening locally that day. After we were all finished, 12 garbage cans full of apple waste went to a farmer in Freeland for his cows.” 

Community and togetherness are at the heart of this annual tradition. Despite the cold and windy weather, volunteers showed up with smiles on their faces and a willingness to help. For Jenkins, that’s what this event is all about.

“I love seeing the different generations working together,” she said. “Young people and the not-so-young, community members of all different backgrounds. It’s wonderful to see people who have never met before leave as friends. This kind of work really builds community and it’s delicious.”

“I love the sense of accomplishment and the confidence that our young people leave with at the end of a press day—their work starts in September picking, collecting, and hauling apples,” Jenkins added. “As part of their prep for hosting the Cider Press, the youth from Woodhaven all went through the Food Handlers training and received their Food Handlers cards. We also worked through the permitting process with the Island County Health Department to make sure we were in compliance with Health Department regulations. It takes a lot of effort to pull an event like this together and our young people did an excellent job!”

For Jenkins, the Fall Festival and Cider Press is reminiscent of the way neighbors traditionally helped each other bring in the harvest. “It’s the gathering of community,” she said. “In addition to taking away freshly pressed sweet apple cider, people also leave with an understanding that work and fun can be had together.”

And it would take more than strong winds to blow that tradition away.