Cider Dayze takes place at Blake’s Orchard and Cider Mill with tons of sampling opportunities, as well as games, food trucks and music.
2023 DATE: August 27-27, 2023
Location: Blake’s Orchard and Cider Mill
17985 Armada Center Rd
Armada, MI 48005
Website: https://www.facebook.com/blakeshardciderco
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This post documents my experience on August 25, 2018.
Out at Blake Farms Apple Orchard…
…they were hosting a festival called Cider Dayze…
…where adults sampled cider (Blake’s Hard Cider)…
…after cider (Virtue Cider)…
…until they felt comfortable doing this.
You guessed it – these were hard ciders (JK’s Farmhouse Ciders)…
…and there was quite a lot of it (Starcut Ciders/Vander Mill)…
…although there was always the possibility (Cellarmen’s)…
…that some could sell out.
If cider wasn’t your thing…
…other vendors offered mead (Dragonmead/B. Nektar)…
…wine (Bowers Harbor/Sabrosa Sangria)…
…and plenty of beer from Michigan (Founders/Bell’s)…
…Ohio (Great Lakes Brewing)…
…and beyond (Deschutes Brewery)…
…and festival goers carried their little sample glass with them…
…as they enjoyed musical performances (The Red Shift)…
…stood around in small groups…
…relaxed at picnic tables…
…shopped among vendors for shirts, festival souvenirs…
…and Great Lakes coffee…
…and played a variety of games that included fowling…
…cornhole…
…KanJam…
…and Giant Jenga.
But when cider lovers found themselves singing karaoke (WYCD)…
…possibly after drinking beyond the 9 samples that came with their ticket…
…there were a few sobering food truck possibilities…
…that included some BBQ (Slows)…
…tacos (Imperial)…
…and pasta (Andiamo).
I had purchased a Designated Driver ticket, which I thought would include a non-alcoholic cider…
…i.e. regular apple cider…
…but it did not…
…so I made sure to stop in Blake’s tasting room and pick up a 6 pack for home.