Archives for August 2016

Updated for 2017

Are you going to the Puyallup Fair-aka The Washington State Fair- this year? If you’d like to get in Free, you can do that this morning,  Friday, September 1st, when you bring a donation of non perishable food between 10:30-12:30. Kids get in free all weekend-no coupon needed!

You can also get in free on Friday, September 8th, from 10:30-12:30 when you bring a donation of school supplies. This is the morning of the cattle drive parade, and if it works with your schedule, this is so much fun! Watch the parade with your littles, and then follow the parade on down to the fairgrounds for free entry.

The Fair runs September 1st-24th  this year! Note that it will now be closed on Tuesdays and on September 6th.

WA State Fair

If you can’t make it on either of these days, there are still lots of other offers, including free days for members of the military on Mondays. Kids will also get free coupons when they go back to school.

We’re working on updating our complete guide to fair going with the kids Right Now. Newbies will definitely want to check back for that!

Are you going to The Fair this year?

Photo Credit Patrick Hagerty Used with permission

Updated for 2017

If you’re looking for a place to pick your own apples near Tacoma, the short answer is that there are almost no places that offer u pick apple picking. You CAN pick your own apples and make cider one very special day at the Curran Apple Orchard in University Place. It’s coming up this weekend! 

You can also visit the Curran Apple Orchard year round. Contributor, Tabitha, tells us it’s a good spot for family photos and quiet picnics. Here’s more! 

The Curran Apple Orchard is located in University Place and is just over 7 acres. The Orchard is just about a mile from Chambers Bay, down Grandview. It includes over 200 trees and 15 varieties of apples, and provides shelter and food for birds, insects, small wildlife and deer.

The apple orchard is the perfect place to go relax and enjoy nature. There are benches all around, and  children can run freely through the field and play on the large rocks. It’s also a  great picnic spot. Need family pictures done or a photography location? This is the perfect photography location throughout the year. There is a  wood farm fence, and it’s very peaceful and quiet and has a beautiful array of colors for your backdrop.

Visitors are welcome daily from 8AM-dusk, though the public is not allowed to pick the apples except for on the Cider Squeeze date/time(info below). Porta potty bathrooms are available, and there is limited street parking. The orchard folks also offer school and group tours free of charge, and you can also reserve the orchard for a private event.

The park is open to the public, but if you are interested in supporting the park they offer tree adoptions for families and groups  You’re given the choice between Pruning Adoptions for $40 which require you to prune, thin, harvest and clean up windfalls from the tree. Or Orchard Supporter Adoption for $65 which means the maintainnce of the tree (besides harvesting it) is done  by volunteers. Both are for one season only. What a fun and exciting opportunity for families and children you’ll get to pick (harvest) your own apples, and make as many fresh apple pies and turnovers as you can! 

If you’re not interested in adopting a tree and want free apples or just want to attend a fun community event, every fall the Curran Apple Orchard puts on a Cider Squeeze with free admission. I highly suggest showing up as early as possible because the apples do get picked through, and the line for the cider press gets long.

My son and I have gone over the years just to pick free apples.
Here’s what to expect from the event, which is this Sunday, the 27th!

The Cider Squeeze is the celebration of a year’s growth at the orchard and the culmination of lots of pruning, tending and hard work by adopters and volunteers alike. It’s the day we invite the public to come share the bounty of harvest and watch as their apples are pressed to cider while listening to live music. Here’s what to expect:

• Pick apples from selected trees
• Walk them through the process to be pressed into cider
• Enjoy some apple pie and other refreshments
• Savor the atmosphere of the orchard with Johnny Appleseed, the Big Apple, and Sunset Bible Bluegrass Band

It’s a great opportunity for you, your kids and friends to spend a leisurely Sunday afternoon and enjoy some lively community fellowship.

For more information, head here! 

Tabitha Black- local mom, lifestyle, travel and family blogger at Love, Tabitha  Be sure to check her out!

Note from SFM-The photo is not from this event. It’s an old photo from the farm that is now Wild Hare on River Road. They did do cider making last year, though they typically offer u-pick apples only to farm share members, and that depends on the harvest. We will have other posts next month with information on harvest festivals and other cider making events. If you’re up for a road trip, many apple orchards up north near Ferndale, are already offering picking because of the very warm spring. We’ll try to add Tabitha’s Curran Orchard pics-my computer is giving me fits at the moment. Happy picking!

Do you know a child in Puyallup who needs free school supplies? Mountain View Community Center in Edgewood is hosting its annual bbq to help families in need. They expect lots of students from nearby Fife and Puyallup as well.

The event will include school supplies, plus free dental checks, a clothing closet, and a free bbq lunch and carnival fun with bounce houses and face painting.

It’s all free from 10AM-2. The child does need to be present.

I hope you’ll take a minute to share this post. I know I had some serious sticker shock after gearing up my boys this year, and if you’re on a tight budget this time of year can really bust it open!