Newly Formed Great Lakes Cider & Perry Association Plans Kick-Off Festival

Activities planned for September 6-7 at Uncle John’s Cider Mill in St. Johns

(ST. JOHNS, Mich) – The newly organized Great Lake Cider & Perry Association is planning a kick-off festival for September 6-7 at Uncle John’s Cider Mill in St. Johns. Throughout the weekend, samples of the finest cider and perry (cider made from pears) from the states and provinces that border the Great Lakes will be available for tasting.

Admission is $5 and includes a souvenir glass and three pours; additional pours are available for an additional fee. Admission tickets for the Great Lakes Cider & Perry Festival can be purchased online at www.michiganvine.com/blog/tickets. The festival runs from 11am until 6pm on Saturday and Noon-4pm on Sunday.

In addition to the cider and perry tastings, food vendors will be selling sweet and savory selections. Attendees will also have an opportunity to stock up on these not-so-easy-to-get beverages, available for purchase during the event. Live entertainment, including Spur of the Moment Band from 1-4pm on Saturday and Fading World Band from 1-4pm on Sunday, as well as all of Uncle John’s Cider Mill’s family-based activities will make up the weekend’s festivities.

Sunday also includes the first official meeting of the association (10am-Noon) where the merits and goals of the organization, as well as the dues structure and general business issues will be discussed. This meeting is open to individual cider/perry makers and others interested in joining the organization. The steering committee for the Great Lakes Cider & Perry Association is made up of commercial wineries and cideries, near-commercial cideries and serious home producers from Michigan, New York and Wisconsin. A board of directors is expected to be elected at the meeting.

From Noon-2pm, non-commercial cider makers will submit their best cider and perry samples for a Sensory Panel Evaluation by both a panel of experts and festival attendees. Commercial wineries are encouraged to bring tank/barrel samples for evaluation as well.

Uncle John’s Cider Mill is located at 8614 N US 127, St. Johns, just north of Lansing. Or, find them online at www.ujcidermill.com