The Fruit Company

by Stephanie, Graphic Designer – Brand Manager

This year’s Harvest Festival rang in the season not only with a bounty of fresh produce and handcrafted goods, but also heavy doses of rain, rain, rain. Despite the inclement weather thousands flocked to the Hood River Expo Center to find a pumpkin, eat a New York City Sub, and get started on holiday shopping. We had a shiny, happy green booth right at the entrance, where we proudly displayed our catalog photos, new baskets, and (the most popular) ample samples of our Chocolate Covered Cherries, Blueberries, and Pistachios, among other fine edibles available for purchase.

There we also had the chance to meet a number of loyal customers and personally hand them the new catalog, which was more than well-received. In fact several began brainstorming ideas for business gifts for the holidays on the computer kiosk we had set up.

The above picture is our Fruit Buyer Nasario and myself at the booth with a young fruit lover signing up to win a 12 month HarvestClub Classic. I can’t tell you if she won or not, but she was determined and knew that by signing up herself AND her mother she was increasing her odds at winning. I had no idea raffles were taught in schools these days.

Overall the festival was a great time and we all had fun partaking in the fervor and appreciation for local goods and the beauty of the season. Raindrops and all.

For a more in depth synopsis of the weekend, head on over to the Hood River County Blog. You can still order exclusive t-shirts with the always gorgeous work of Mark Nilsson emblazoned on the front!

by Stephanie, Graphic Designer – Brand Manager

The region’s biggest event and celebration of the harvest season will start off with a (literal) bang this Friday. For the first time a dazzling array of fireworks worthy of any July 4th will light up the night sky over the Columbia River, kicking off 3 days of homegrown favorites, homespun crafts, homemade gourmet treats, and all around merry-making at the Expo Center. In short: food, beverages, music, buyables, frivolity.

This year we’re a happy sponsor of the event and will have a giant green booth (that’s grown to be more like an exhibit) featuring some of our gourmet chocolates and edibles, copies of our brand-spankin’-new catalog that debuts this week in mailboxes nationwide, actual pear trees, a computer kiosk for ordering gifts, and our smiling faces. If you visit us on Friday or Saturday and say the blog sent ya we’ll give you a free box of our famous Chocolate Covered Cherries just for being attentive out there in the blogosphere. We love you that much!

We’ve also uncovered some recognition for the Harvest Festival. The incessantly useful Epicurious.com’s blog Epi Log gave us a shout out in its listing of the best food events worth seeing in the country this week. The Best of Portland Blog lists the festival under a plethora of categories including Best Annual Events, Best Entertainment, and Best Art. The always impressive Travel Oregon proudly shouts out the festival in its Oregon Bounty feature. Considering it drew over 21,000 people last year it’s easy to see that the word has spread greatly over the past 25 years.

If you’re smart (and if you have a a free day or two) come see the festival and all the related events in the area this weekend. The foliage on the slopes of the Hood and Columbia Rivers is some of the finest in the nation (the Gorge is frequently named in the top 10 spots for colorful fall leaves) and truly at its peak right now. Celebrate the harvest with us and our friends! More information can be found with the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce. See you then!

by Stephanie, Graphic Designer – Brand Manager

In the spirit of autumn, here are two extra images we shot yesterday of our Imperial Asian Pears and a few baby pumpkins. They have a nice, simple harvest look to them and would be perfect centered on your computer desktop or even printed. Our gift to you, since we’re all far too excited over the harvest season here in the Hood River Valley. Stay tuned for more information about the upcoming 25th Annual Hood River Harvest Festival, the biggest annual celebration in the Gorge. And have a great weekend!

(click to make the images larger)