Welcome Peach Lovers! The Palisade Chamber of Commerce and American Warehouse Furniture are proud to bring you the 47th Annual Palisade Peach Festival on August 12 – 16 with the Festival in the Park on August 14 & 15. There will be peach pies, peach cobblers, peach ice-cream, peach cocktails and wine, peach cuisine, peach jams & jellies, Peach salsas, peach art, peachy music and peach recipes. Our winning poster art gave us our theme, “Still Pick’n’” by Jon Crocker from Grand Junction. This commemorative poster will warm your heart and you won’t want to leave without an autographed copy of your own. As a special treat Crocker has agreed to be at the Chamber booth on Saturday from 5pm – 7pm signing posters in person. Come and meet this very talented artist!
The celebration kicks off on Wednesday night with a night of peach baseball with the GJ Rockies at Stocker Stadium with Roger Granat, Mayor of Palisade throwing the first peach pitch joined by Jake Jabs throwing one of his own. Section ‘L’ is where you will find the Palisade Peach Lovers! Tickets for the reserved seats are $9.00 and can be purchased ahead of time at the Chamber office. There will even be a mini farmers market under the stands and lots of other peach food and fun.
Thursday evening the Town of Palisade officials and staff will dish out gallons of ice cream and sliced peaches at the FREE Ice-Cream Social & Street Dance starting 5:30pm. Live music in the plaza downtown and don’t forget we crown the Peach Queen and the Town Grouch. Something new will be a striker bike obstacle course set up on Main Street.
We have arranged for a VIP Orchard Tour in a luxury Absolute Prestige Tour bus for Friday. The $47 ticket includes parking right at the park, peach picking, lunch provided by Wine Country Inn and wine tasting. The tour will begin at 10 am and will stop at Talbott’s Family Farm, Anita’s Pantry, High Country Orchard, Colterris, MT Lincoln Orchard and a wagon ride at Clark Family Orchard. Join us for a Peach Experience you will not want to miss.
Riverbend Park gates open at 4:00pm on Friday and 9:00am on Saturday. Remember to leave your pets at home and no outside alcohol or large coolers will be allowed. Stroll through our Market of vendors, entertainment and others offering a wide-range of items to purchase with peaches as the main course. Jake’s Jungle will delight the kids with activities and games. Learn a new recipe at Peach Cuisine with Colorado Chefs or about the history of the Peach industry and the Roller Dam that makes it all possible. There will be something for everyone in the park between the Peach Eating Contest, Peach Pit throw toss, and the Guns vs Hoses tug of war.
On Saturday the day will kick off downtown at 9am with the Palisade Peach Parade. Floats and bands, local growers and groups will celebrate the Peach Harvest. Lions Club Pancake Breakfast featuring sausage & eggs, pancakes and peach syrup with coffee and juice. Our eagerly anticipated Peach Recipe Contest takes place there as well, and scrumptious samples of everything and anything peaches are sold after judging. Stop downtown at the Palisade Historical Society for a guided historical walking tour at 10:30 AM and 12:30PM. For a small donation of $5 there are 4 different featured topics that you can choose from. Compete for prizes at the Peach Eating Contest or the Peach Pit throw toss, Hang out at Peach Jam Stage and listen to the great music or Hang 10 on a Stand up Paddle Board on the Pond. Don’t miss the Guns vs Hoses tug of war and cheer on the guys and gals of our local police and fire departments.
As you are walking around the park on Saturday you may notice some cameras following a group of very dressed up folks. A primetime show for a major cable channel is filming their season premier show using Peach Festival as the backdrop. We can’t say who it is but it could add an element of entertainment to the festival. If you are camera shy please back away if you see them aiming in your direction. Follow us on Facebook and we will alert you to the date and channel to watch.
Take lots of selfies at the festival and post them to our twitter and facebook accounts, #peachparty2015 and facebook/palisadechamberofcommerce.
The Sunday Farmers Market will have the best produce in the state available for purchase as well as more food and retail vendors, live music and the shops and galleries downtown Palisade are open for business. Savor the peach specialties at many of our local restaurants. Pick up your produce at the market or be sure to take one of our many Agritours and buy fresh from the stand.
Special thanks to our volunteeers and sponsors for supporting Peach Festival and a long tradition of celebration of our Peach Industry and our community. As our theme this year states, we are “Still Pickn’”.
Tickets for Feast dinners and information can be found at: www.palisadepeachfest.com or by calling the Chamber office at 970.464.7458.
