10th Annual Cider Summit Portland Goes Virtual in 2020

Though this year’s Cider Summit Portland two-day festival had been put on hold, this setback has not stopped the festival’s organizers from celebrating its 10th anniversary. To honor a decade of Portland’s premiere cider festival, the Virtual Cider Summit Portland will bring together an in-home tasting kit of eight ciders, tasting glasses, swag, Meet the Cidermakers, discounts to the 2021 Cider Summit Portland and more!

“We didn’t want our 10-year milestone to pass by unnoticed,” said Alan Shapiro, Cider Summit founder and producer, in a press release. “Creating a tasting kit was a way to stay engaged with our attendees during the pandemic. The cideries we selected for this package are all long-term partners of the festival, with some dating back to year one.”

It’s unfortunate that due to the COVID-19 pandemic that all in person cider events are cancelled for the foreseeable future. But to assist cider drinkers in this time of uncertainty, Cider Summit Portland will bring together seven Oregon made ciders along with one special barrel-aged cider from Michigan to taste through from the comfort of your own home. Cider Summit Portland’s Cider Festival in a (Zoom) Box will take place on Saturday, June 20th from 6:00-7:30pm.

The lineup for the in-home Cider Summit Portland tasting kit will feature the following eight ciders.

• 2 Towns Ciderhouse Prickly Pearadise
• Alter Ego Guardian Angel
• Anthem Break Cider (Anthem Tea)
• Avid Black Apple
• Portland Cider Peach Berry
• Reverend Nat’s Tepache Cider-Radler
• Swift Oregon Marionberry
• Virtue Salut! Barrel Aged Dry Cider (Collaboration with Cider Summit)

Orders must be placed by 2pm on Tuesday, June 16. Pre-purchased kits will be available for pickup up at a pop-up contactless drive-through on Saturday, June 20, from 12pm to 5pm at the Memorial Coliseum Benton Lot at the corner of North Broadway and North Benton. Bicycles and walk-ups will also be accommodated with appropriate social distancing measures. Home delivery to select zip codes is available for an additional $8; packages will be delivered on Thursday, June 18 or Friday, June 19, and an adult must be available to receive the package.

Additional add-ons are available for purchase, including a ticket to the Northwest Cider Association’s “Cider Festival in a (Zoom) Box” virtual party on Saturday, June 20 from 6pm to 7:30pm. The virtual event, held in honor of the ninth annual Oregon Cider Week, will offer 90 minutes of entertainment by several of the 2020 Cider Summit Portland makers who will go beyond the tasting notes to deliver their best jokes, juggling and songs in an effort to make people smile. The event will include a pop-up concert by Cider Summit favorite and local blues legend Norman “Boogie Cat” Sylvester. Tickets to the Cider Festival in a (Zoom) Box costs $8, with the fee allowing the Northwest Cider Association to assist cideries around the region that have been hard hit during the pandemic.

To learn more about ordering the Tasting Kit, Home Delivery, Cider Festival in a (Zoom) Box and more from visiting the website: https://www.cidersummitnw.com/tickets.

Cider Summit Portland’s Festival To-Go Tasting Kit is sponsored by First Tech Federal Credit Union, a not-for-profit, member-owned credit union that is excited to come together with partner organizations to toast the Pacific Northwest community. Tasting kits benefit the Cascade Blues Association and the Northwest Cider Association. Purchase packages and learn more at CiderSummit.com and engage with @CiderSummit on social media, using hashtags #CiderSummitPDX and #CiderSummitToGo.