Annual Events

Apple Fest

Pick your own apples and bring them home with you at the annual Apple Festival in Oak Creek Canyon.

The Park for many years was a large orchard and today is still a working commercial apple ranch producing more than 1,200 boxes of apples in 2007 in the park. Apple Festival guests are encouraged to pick apples from the 13 varieties of trees in the park and take them home.

Frank L. Pendley arrived in the canyon in 1907 and acquired the land title as part of the Homestead Act in 1910. He put in the irrigation system and planted the apple orchard in 1912. In 1933 he built the rustic cabins seen in the park today. It was sold to the Arizona Parklands Foundation for $3.6 million in 1984 to become a State Park. An original vintage 30-foot-long apple-sorting machine reconstructed by volunteers is still in the historic Pendley apple shed. Volunteers demonstrate the art of sorting different sizes of apples for boxing and selling. Learn about this year's event specifics below:

September 19 & 20: Apple Fest: “What’s Old is New Again”

9 am – 4 pm. A celebration of Oak Creek’s agricultural and farming history, the Slide Rock Apple Fest is a two-day event with live music, activities for children and adults, food, arts & crafts, natural exhibitions, educational booths, homesteading demonstrations and lectures about sustainability. The Apple Festival activities will include apple-sorting demonstrations, cornhole and a beer garden, face painting, children’s arts & crafts, apple-themed activities, history walks, live demonstrations, an apple cooking contest (see below), a dessert auction and music including performances by Red Rock Country Band and Porchlights. A Plein Air "Paint Out" will also take place at the event.

Fees and Tickets: Vendor Booths $50 (limited space available call 928-282-1418); Entrance Fee – $8 per car load, or take the free trolley and receive a complimentary ticket. Volunteers are needed for this event. This event is sponsored by the Friends of Slide Rock State Park, a local non-profit group dedicated to protecting, preserving and promoting appreciation and enjoyment of the historical, ecological, scientific, recreational and cultural resources of Slide Rock State Park.

Trolley Stops: Go Green: Take the free trolley from one of 3 pick-up points in Sedona and receive a complimentary ticket to the event. Trolley runs from 9 am to 4 pm.

Sedona Copy & Design: 2081 W Hwy 89A, #1, Sedona
Basha's Shopping Center: 160 Coffee Pot Drive, Sedona
Cedar Street Parking Lot: Uptown Sedona, corner of Peach Lane and Schnebly Road

Baked Goods Show: All entries in the Slide Rock Apple Fest’s Food Contests must include apples in the ingredient list. This includes, but is not limited to, whole apples, apple flavoring, sauces or jellies. Learn more about specific rules, categories, and awards in the Baked Goods Show General Entry Information. ( 66 KB PDF)