July 14th, 2011 by Michigan Apple Committee Filed Under: Queen
Alyson Wendzel – 2011 Michigan Apple Queen
Apart from apples, cherries are probably my favorite fruit so I was very excited to be able to attend the National Cherry Festival in Traverse City last weekend. The festival was every
thing I thought it would be and more! The day of the coronation ball I was able to walk around and see what the Cherry Festival was all about. There were rides, games, and food stand after food stand filled with everything from just plain sweet cherries to cherry flavored beef jerky! I really enjoyed the cherry smoothies though. That night my family and I attended the Cherry Queen’s Coronation Ball at the beautiful City Opera house. It was so exciting to see the new queen Jordan Bleaker crowned and hear about the exciting year she has coming up. At the ball I met other queens from all over the area and also service men. It ended up being a really fun night.
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June 30th, 2011 by Michigan Apple Committee Filed Under: Queen
Alyson Wendzel – 2011 Michigan Apple Queen
Hello everyone!
On June 12, I traveled to Frankenmuth, Michigan to attend the Bavarian Festival. It was a beautiful day and there were a lot of people of all ages attending the parade. There were also a lot of people in lederhosen and dirndls which would be funny to see on any normal day but not at this festival!
My day started out with an authentic German breakfast at the Bavarian Inn Lodge. Although the food differed a bit from what I am used to for breakfast, I loved it just as much! After that we made our way to the parade route. I met so many different queens from all over such as the blueberry festival queen, the Bavarian Festival Princesses, and even the Bean Queen! I also was able to meet a lot of younger kids who were all very excited to wear Michigan Apple stickers and also to tell me about their love for apples which I was pretty happy to hear.
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June 28th, 2011 by Michigan Apple Committee Filed Under: Queen
Rockford Summer Celebration
On Saturday June 11th, I attended the Rockford Start of Summer Celebration Parade. I was very excited to participate in the parade held in my hometown. The day was cloudy but thankfully no spirits were dampened and the rain held off until after the parade. While on the parade route I heard many times how much Michigan Apples are appreciated, “We love Michigan apples!” Hearing the love of Michigan’s apples never gets old!
I was able to meet with many people while downtown. I also had a few different people tell me they buy our apples. The children were very excited to receive a Michigan apple sticker. The older kids liked to tell me their favorite kind of apple. Red Delicious and Honeycrisp were the most popular varieties. Overall the day was a brilliant success.
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May 26th, 2011 by Michigan Apple Committee Filed Under: In the Orchard
While maybe you’ve only heard of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) – America’s newest invasive species, Michigan Apple growers are living with the threat that this shield-shaped pest, which secretes an odor of burning leaves when squished, will leave them with little to show for their hard work.
Believed to have entered the U.S. in 1998 via packaging crates from Asia, BMSB destroys fruit by injecting saliva with its piercing mouthparts. It was first confirmed in Michigan in early 2011, posing the most serious threat the Great Lakes State’s apple industry has faced in years – possibly decades.
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May 25th, 2011 by Michigan Apple Committee Filed Under: Queen
On Saturday May fourteenth, I went to Holland to experience the Tulip Time Parade. I was surprised by how many people were there especially since it was a very cloudy and cold day. With so much going on before the parade I was able to walk around and meet lots of people.
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May 24th, 2011 by Michigan Apple Committee Filed Under: Queen
Hello everyone!
Well the end of my senior year of high school is very near and although I am really excited to begin a new chapter of my life at college, I will miss a lot about high school. While the end of the year senior activities have most definitely kept me busy, in the midst of everything going on, I was able to attend the Blossomtime Parade on Saturday, May 7. We were blessed that the weather cooroporated because it ended up being a beautiful and perfect day for the parade.
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May 11th, 2011 by Michigan Apple Committee Filed Under: Queen
On May tenth I visited a Sparta Michigan Apple Shipper for their Apple Blossom Day. Many schools from the greater Grand Rapids area were invited to attend. I was able to meet and talk about Michigan Apples with students from Coopersville, Grandville, Grand Rapids Public, Grand Rapids Christian, as well as other schools.
There was a tour for the students to learn about an apple’s life cycle. They began with introductions to the Michigan Apple Committee’s Mascot and me. While I han
ded out stickers of Michigan Apples one student asked if I was really royalty. I told him I ruled over all the Michigan Apples and in response he said, “Oh, so you’re not from England then”. While I was entertained by his remark I had another student mention my height. As she said, “You’re really tall!” I told her, “That is because I eat a lot of Michigan Apples!”
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April 28th, 2011 by Diane Smith Filed Under: Queen
On Tuesday April twelfth, I read to Ms. Week’s third grade class and Mrs. Andrews’ kindergarten class at Roguewood elementary of the Rockford Public School System. I read 10 Apples up on Top by Dr. Seuss. Who knew Dr. Seuss was a fan of Michigan apples?
I believe my third grade friends caught onto my agenda because they instantly noticed my apple sash and apple book. After reading, I polled the third graders to find out their favorite apple. It may have been unscientific but I am confident within five partial hand raises Honeycrisp was the winner.
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January 21st, 2011 by Michigan Apple Committee Filed Under: Queen
Alyson Wendzel – 2011 Michigan Apple Queen
Hello, my name is Alyson Wendzel and I am proud to hold the title of Michigan Apple Queen 2011. I am from the small farming community of Watervliet, Michigan and my family is part of Grandview Orchards, Greg Orchards, and Coloma Frozen Foods in the Southwest Michigan area. I have lived on the family farm my whole life and apples are definitely a huge part of it and mean a lot to me.
The queen contest, which was held at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids on December 7 was a day full of nerves, excitement, and a lot of hairspray. It started out with practice in the Ambassador Ballroom. I was nervous at first, but it passed quickly when I realized how nice all of the other contestants and committee members were. It also helped that the very first thing we did was eat a delicious snack provided to us by the apple committee. Rehearsal went by quickly, but I felt like I was ready for the on stage part of the pageant. Next was the reception with the judges and our interviews. I was definitely nervous for this part but soon found out that the judges were very nice and I was able to talk to them with ease. After our interviews we were sent back up to our rooms to get ready for the pageant. I was getting excited now. We then took pictures in the lobby of the hotel and I was able to see my family one last tim
e before I went on stage. The stage looked beautiful. The pageant was exciting and before I knew it, it was all over and I had been crowned 2011 Michigan Apple Queen! I was overwhelmed with excitement.
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August 17th, 2010 by Michigan Apple Committee Filed Under: Queen
Thus far, I have had a very exciting year as the 2010 Michigan Apple Queen. My year of events began close to home in Frankenmuth Michigan at Zehnder’s annual Snowfest. I got to judge the Michigan Apple Pie Contest, and there is no better way to start the year off than trying to find the best apple pie in Michigan! I saw a lot of familiar faces and tasted a lot of delicious and inventive pies. Each contestant put their own twist on my favorite dessert.
After Snowfest was over, I had a fairly quiet winter. Then, a week before finals, when all my classmates were stuck in Mt. Pleasant feeling the usual pressure of the semester’s 
end, I was headed to Orlando, Florida to be a part of the American Pie Festival. Before judging even began, I did several interviews, met Willard Scott, and even got to be on the Today Show! I was placed in the commercial division, judging pies that can be purchased in stores and bakeries across the country. I tasted a lot of apple pie, and by the end, I was just about pied-out.
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Tags: apple, belding, Blossomtime, Cherry Festival, conklin, Frankenmuth, michigan, Queen, Sparta, Tulip Time Festival, vassar, Zehnder's
