Event

Whidbey Island Cider Festival

Located on magnificent Whidbey Island, Pacific Rim Institute, a 175-acre native prairie with forested areas, seeks to preserve native species while multiplying their availability to the public among a myriad of other ecological and educational activities. The Cider Festival is a one day event full of cider tasting, children activities, music performances, tours of the site and delectable food offerings. Whether young or old, extended families or coming to find others to share the experience, everyone is welcome!

Spend the day in the area with comfortable seating listening to "The Shifty Sailors", "Ike and the Old Man", and others on one side; and the cideries on the other, tasting, talking and reveling in the delightful day. Or, browse the booths offering educational information or interactive activities such as the cider press and apple cider tasting. Other children's activities include a train ride touring a small section; a scavenger hunt, etc.

Wander for a few moments down "Coop's Row", brooder houses reminiscent of the site's previous life as a Washington State Game Farm. Circle around to the native seed beds where a fledging industry in native seed plants is leading the charge to save our local environments. Currently PRI grows 50-plus species of rare and even threatened species of native plants arrayed before you in the greenhouse, shaded areas, or nursery beds.

If the day grows short, you can schedule a time to return for tours of the two onsite savannas where native Americans used fire to maintain prairie areas for their own sustenance and medicinal plants. Using ancient methods and current science, PRI is actively transforming these areas back into savannas - one of Washington's most endangered ecosystems. While onsite, be sure to visit the Prairie Remnant where the threatened Golden Paintbrush was reintroduced in 2007 and has flourished to become one of the largest populations in existence.