I love the city of Lakewood's annual Cider Days. Quaint and oddly anachronistic, it harkens back to the days when Lakewood was a farming community on the outskirts of Denver.
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| High Brow: Cider Tasting |
Today, Lakewood is a city of 145,000 people, with the area around Wadsworth and Alameda as its newly designated downtown. But Lakewood grew in a patchwork fashion, as apple orchards and farms were developed into housing, one by one.
Cider Days reflects this agricultural heritage, with displays of cider presses, saw mills, and vintage tractors. This makes it sound like Cider Days is a series of historical reenactments. And it is. But it's also part county fair, with deep-fried Snicker bars, turkey drumsticks, and funnel cake. Low brow, yes. But also delicious!
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| Low Brow: Fried Foods Galore |
Owners of vintage tractors bring them in from all over Colorado and even beyond to participate in the Cider Day's Tractor Pull competition. There's music and cowboy-themed comedy routines.
Cider Days also has a contemporary feel, with tasting booths offering small glasses of fine hard ciders (real cider, the alcoholic kind-- not apple juice), and food trucks selling sweet barbecue tortas with Kimchi garish, potstickers, and french fries with Thai peanut dipping sauce. So it's high brow, too. Really, it's hard not to have a great time.
The event even takes place at the Lakewood Heritage Center in Belmar Park, which makes it an easy walk for anyone living in downtown Lakewood. But if you didn't make it this year, here are some photos:
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| Cutting Beetle Killed Pine into Boards |
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| More Vintage Saw Mill Demonstrations |
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| Cowboy Themed Entertainment |
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| Pony Rides! Or are they Donkey Rides? |
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| Antique Car Show |
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| The Every Popular Hand-Powered Apple Press |
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