Manzano Mountain Retreat Harvest Festival 2026
Visitors to the Manzano Mountain Retreat Harvest Festival on Saturday, September 26, 2026, had plenty to eat. A chalkboard in the farm store lists seven apple varieties harvested in September and October, including McIntosh, Fuji, Honeycrisp, and Gala. At the food stand, a boy helps pull fresh apple cider donuts from under the heat lamps, and retreat staff plate smoked meat and work the grill in the open-air kitchen. Festival-goers ate at picnic tables under the pavilion while live music played, and one shopper browsed bags of NM Sunset and Caramel Apple popcorn. - Todd Brogowski/Mountainair Dispatch
Children had their own corner of the festival. A girl rests outside a SpongeBob SquarePants bounce house, and a shaggy Highland cow noses through the hay at the petting zoo. A boy works his way through a hay bale maze while a woman carrying an infant watches, and young children dig in a corn pit below the orchard. A face painter kneels to work on a boy wearing a green crocheted hat. - Todd Brogowski/Mountainair Dispatch
Many visitors went home with more than they ate. A pair of cinnamon sugar apple cider donuts sit beside a pint of Manzano 100% pure apple cider. Local vendors sold crocheted animals, jars of dried herbs and spices, fall wreaths, and fresh-baked bread, and shoppers at the apple stand tasted slices of Gala, Red Delicious, and Ambrosia before filling their bags.- Todd Brogowski/Mountainair Dispatch