In 1982, a small arts and crafts fair was started at Apple Valley Farm at Lake Perry (approximately 30 miles northeast of Topeka).  In the intervening years, Cider Days has moved and matured, growing into the premier fall festival in Northeast Kansas and the “must-see” annual destination for thousands of area residents.
Cider Days first move was to Lake Shawnee on the eastern edge of Topeka and, in 1987, it came to its current home, the Kansas Expocentre in central Topeka. Even here the festival has been on the move, making use of different spaces and areas as the Expocentre has evolved over the years from a fairground into an entertainment and convention center.

Throughout all the changes, Cider Days continues to grow and still serves as a major benefit for the American Lung Association of Kansas, the state’s oldest voluntary non-profit health association. Proceeds from Cider Days help fund many Lung Association programs, including asthma education for patients and their families, smoking prevention programs for youth, smoking cessation clinics, clean air and lung health advocacy, and research into the causes and cures of lung disease.

The two-day event, in September, attracts thousands of visitors each year to its arts and crafts exhibits, pioneer demonstrations, food and entertainment. Crafters sell their various wares inside the Landon Arena and Exhibition Hall of the Expocentre and pioneer demonstrations, local entertainers and ethnic food are found outside on the grounds, where straw bales provide resting areas and rides beckon children and adults.

It’s old-fashioned entertainment with pony rides, gunfighter and Civil War reenactments, grain threshing displays and craft demonstrations. But the modern world does make an appearance, with the fly-in of the Kansas Highway Patrol helicopter and drug dogs and information about the latest advances in lung health and disease prevention.

The sounds of military bands, bagpipes, barbershop harmony, black powder rifles, Native American chanting , tap dancing feet and tooting train horns attend the hubbub of circling crowds of craft buyers and entertainment watchers. During election years, the sounds of campaigning join in with that of puppies yipping for adoption from the Humane Society.

One person you can expect to see, and without whom Cider Days would not live up to its name, is Connie Kimble. Since the beginning of the festival, Ms. Kimble has brought her 1865 Buckeye cider press to Cider Days virtually ever year. Using hundreds of bushels of apples, she produces fresh, natural cider for sale on site with the help of many family and friends. It takes about 300 bushels of apples to make the 600 gallons of cider she presses each year at the festival, about 20 to 25 bushels at a time. She uses a combination of tart (Jonathan or Winesap) and sweet (Red or Yellow Delicious) apples. By the cup or the quart, it tastes good!

While the festival opens to the public on Saturday morning, Kimble, like most participants, begins setup no later than Friday. Floor space inside the Landon Arena and Exhibition Hall is marked off into quadrants to provide booth space for the approximately 280 craft exhibitors who bring clothing, jewelry, wooden objects, candles, pottery, ceramics, wreaths, toys and more for sale. All items in the juried craft sale must be handmade.

For many visitors, Cider Days is the official start of the Christmas shopping season, with creative ideas to be found in each booth.  A fine arts display, with watercolors and oils by local artists, features character artists ready to sketch the face of any festival-goer.

Outside, food vendors are lined up to provide such anticipated treats as roasted turkey legs, kettle popped corn, funnel cakes, Indian tacos, bierocks, sanchos, buffalo burgers, barbeque sandwiches, corn on the cob, pita pockets and fresh-squeezed lemonade.

Individuals also share their skills in such once-common activities as basket weaving, rope making, candle dipping, fabric weaving, egg decorating, lace making, chair caning, apple butter cooking and soap making. The festival is also home to demonstrations of a life that was much closer to horses and axes. A mountain man encampment, Indian dancing circle, Buffalo Soldier re-enactors, gunfighters, buckskinners and riding demonstration by the “Wild Women of the Frontier” have all been part of Cider Days.  Even not-so-common-skills, such as chain saw wood carving and limestone post cutting, are on exhibition.

And what self-respecting festival would be without clowns, magicians, face painters and mimes? At Cider Days they are present both on the stage and working the crowd.  Also on the continuous entertainment stage are local musicians from country to jazz to rock to gospel to big band as well as singers and dancers of all ages. Square dancers, cloggers, ballet artists, tap dance students and cheer-leaders share their skills with enthusiasm.

Over the years, Cider Days has seen several one-of-a-kind events, including a Chicago concert (in 1987) and a Kansas All-Stars basketball game. For a number of years, Cider Days was officially recognized with a parade through downtown Topeka.

A variety of community businesses and organizations have served as sponsors through the years. They provide both direct and indirect financial support, including broadcast and print media exposure. Restaurants have provided breakfast for the exhibitors as the set up before the morning’s opening and special recognitions for volunteers.

Cider Days is a benefit for the American Lung Association of Kansas, and the Association uses the opportunity to inform the public about its mission and provide information about lung health issues at an inside booth.  Displays, including a demonstration of actual working lungs (generally from a pig and attached to a respirator so that they “breathe”), and “Robot Ray,” a moving, conversing four-foot delight for the children (and adults) who checks out visitors’ knowledge of their lungs (Ray is radio controlled and the operator can both listen and talk), are provided. Both the lungs and Ray serve as powerful attractions, and conversation starters. The booth also features many brochures about various lung diseases and lung health information, as well as colorful non-smoking buttons and balloons, that can be picked up by festival visitors.

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