Amherst Cider Festival Returns Next Month

A festival to benefit a local orchard in Amherst is back again this year with food, music and fun for the whole family.

Randy Chapman, President of the Friends of Lindabury Orchard, is planning to host the fundraising event on Saturday, Sept. 22 at the orchard, which is located on Christian Hill Road in Amherst.

Selectmen approved the festival on Monday, the third of its kind to support the 47-acre parcel of orchard and forest land. Chapman told the board that the orchard is hitting a crossroads this year, and it will need the support of the community to keep going.

The orchard property was owned by Jack Lindabury until his passing in 2001. The property was offered to the conservation commission, but at the time land values had spiraled and the town could not purchase the property.

The Orchard was purchased by the ALT (Amherst Land Trust) in 2002. Jack Lindabury gave the town the first right of refusal and a price of $600,000 was negotiated. The Land Trust raised $200,000 through private donations and a bond for the remaining $400K was passed through a warrant article vote. The land was passed to ACC to manage. 

“Friends of the Orchard” was formed soon after the purchase with a mission of cleaning up the orchard, preserving views, create trails for hiking and biking and possibly bring a few trees back to fruit production. The Cider Festival was created to help fund these goals. The group is a subcommittee of the conservation commission that manages the the long-term project of keeping the orchard.

For more information, visit the Amherst Land Trust website.