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If you want to be like James climbing inside his giant peach and finding a magical odyssey, head to 34th annual Palisade Peach Festival. It’s a guaranteed adventure in fuzzy-fruit consumption.
“Without a doubt, we’re the biggest peach growers west of the Mississippi,” says Jeannine Opfal, executive director of the Palisade Chamber of Commerce. “Some people don’t know what a peach right off the tree tastes like. But the look on their faces is unbelievable” once they take a bite.
Claiming that their luscious peaches are “the pride of Colorado,” organizers of this August 17 festival note that the event features everything from a peach pancake breakfast to the chief of the Palisade Police Department performing with his band, Hardtimes. Other peachy events include a peach-eating contest, parade and an ice-cream social. Arts, crafts and fresh fruit from local vendors will all be for sale in Palisade Park, the location of the fruit extravaganza.
Although only 2,579 people live in the remote town, located just about ten miles from Grand Junction, the tiny burg overflows with people when more than 10,000 show up to partake of the luscious fruit — which is at its flavorful peak in late August.
“Just about everybody in town comes out,” Opfal says. “We sure do get a lot of people from the Front Range. And from all over the world.”
This year’s edition is borrowing a patriotic theme: “As American as Peach Pie.” And in that tradition, professional chefs are invited to compete in the annual peach-recipe contest. The seen-it-all-peachwise locals are curious about what is going to be created. “Some people even serve peaches with meat,” says Opfal. “Things are going to get really crazy this year.”
If you don’t believe her, here is Edie Johnson’s “Just Peachy Chicken Salad,” which earned first place in 1999:
1/3 cup fat-free sour cream
1/2 cup fat-free peach yogurt
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. marjoram
2 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken breast
1 cup red seedless grapes
1 cup frozen (thawed) tiny peas
2 large peaches, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup pecans In large bowl, combine first 5 ingredients, mix well. Add chicken, tossing to coat. Stir in grapes, peas, peaches and pecans. Chill. Serve in lettuce-lined bowl if desired.
While such innovations in peach prep may seem modern, the festival has deep roots. The town has held a version of the peach festival, originally called “Peach Days,” since shortly after the first peach trees were planted in the area in 1882. These days, Palisade’s more than thirty peach orchards produce around 20 million pounds of peaches each year.
And even this small-town tradition appears headed for the big leagues: The August issue of Better Homes and Gardens Hometown Cooking magazines will feature last year’s peach-recipe winners.
And if you’ve got the mother of all peaches growing in your backyard, bring it down to the Big Beautiful Peach contest. Last year’s winner weighed in at more than 22 ounces (the average peach weighs eight to ten ounces). But even such monsters don’t tire local palates.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of eating peaches,” Opfal says, laughing.
