Wild Terra Cider hosts second annual apple harvest festival
Wild Terra accepts donations of local apples in exchange for credit at the bar.
On Satuday, Sept. 7, owners of Wild Terra Ethan and Breezee Hennings hosted their second annual apple harvest festival.
Despite the rain, the atmosphere inside was absolutely brimming with people, chatting over delicious cider and sweets.
While doing a live demonstration of the cider-making process, Ethan gifted me a few minutes to talk about what the Fargo community meant to their business.
“Especially at this time of year, it means a lot,” Ethan commented. “We have people coming in to try our cider…[we’re] creating an area that’s a little bit different than other places.”
Wild Terra is very different from other places you can stop in and get a drink in the downtown Fargo area. In fact, their cidery was built out of an old horse stable.
With much of the original material being used, Wild Terra brings together something old with something new and created something really special for the Fargo community.
“People that come out to support [us]…it means a lot.”
To celebrate the support they’ve been given and to give back, they hosted their second annual apple harvest festival.
The festival was a family (and dog) friendly event with classic farm games such as corn husking and egg and spoon races, live music, a live demonstration of their cider-making process, an apple pie contest and of course, cider.
“This time of year, it’s all about the apple. We can get apple juice from out of state, but we want to use local apples. So this time of year, when people have an abundance of apples…providing them an outlet to do something useful with them. In exchange we pay 40 cents a pound in gift cards towards the bar,” Ethan explained of their apple donation system to keep their apple juice local.
“Last year, we collected and pressed over 20,000 pounds of apples. This year, it’s been less than desirable growing conditions, but we still have been getting a good response of people bringing in their apples–lots of different varieties.”
Being the only cider bar in Fargo came with new challenges, but nevertheless, the Wild Terra team prevailed through changing city ordinances and remodeling an old stable.
Because of this, Wild Terra provides a place that’s far different than any other bar on Broadway for locals to gather and enjoy a glass of cider and a bite to eat, all in good company.