Blue skies, big crowds, lots of sun and cold, hard cider was the order of the day Sept. 25, at Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park. 

Normally part of the larger Cider Days festivities, this year’s tasting was held as a solo event and prelude to the Cider Days Family Weekend.

With more than 50varieties of hard cider available to sample, the event had something for every cider fan. 

Albert (no last name given) came to check out what the festival had to offer with his wife and friends. He singled out Clear Fork and Locust as new favorites he’d discovered at the tasting.

Brad Page, President of the Colorado Cider Guild, and his wife, Kathe, kept busy. Brad handed out samples of their Colorado Cider Company's wares and Kathe working the festival’s take-home sales booth. Brad Page spoke enthusiastically about the event.

“We’re just trying to showcase all of the ciders made in Colorado,” he said. “This has always been a great avenue for everybody to try all of the ciders that we make in the state.”

The Colorado’s cider industry is healthy, Page said, having grown a great deal in the last 10 years.

“This is the first time we’ve had more ciders being made by people growing their own apples than we’ve ever had,” he said.

If you like a nip of the hard stuff but don’t want to grow your own apples, the Cider Days Family Weekend is just around the corner with events taking place Oct 2-3.

The festival will feature apple activities and products for sale, kids' amusements, live entertainment, historical demonstrations, a tractor pull and a beer and cider garden.

Tickets for Cider Days are on sale now, with more information available by visiting lakewood.showare.com.