Meet WSU athletes, try Cosmic Crisp® apples and student-made products at Friday markets
PULLMAN, Wash. — Campus visitors can meet Washington State University athletes and Butch T. Cougar while sampling award-winning Cosmic Crisp® apples, Ferdinand’s ice cream, and other student-made products at two upcoming Harvest Markets.
Taking place on back-to-back Fridays this fall, each market will feature students, scientists, and nutrition experts passionate about food and agriculture. Admission is free for all.
“How many tailgaters know that WSU bred the Cosmic Crisp® apple, raises its own honey and organic produce, or trains students to help athletes perform their very best?” said Lindsay Brown, market organizer and Associate Director of Athletics for Performance Nutrition and Student-Athlete Dining. “The Harvest Markets are a way to show how WSU supports Washington agriculture and student athletes, and to enjoy the amazing foods and products that are the outcome.”
The first Harvest Market is 4-6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, at the Mooberry Track and Field. Held the day before the Arizona home football game, the market features the return of the Cosmic Crisp® hot air balloon, an 80-foot-tall, lighter-than-air red apple.
The second market, titled the Ag Innovation Harvest Market, 4-6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, is part of fall Family Weekend and takes place the day before the Fresno State home football game and the first Ag Innovation Day.
Market participants include Cougar men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and women’s soccer teams; WSU Food Science Club offering Ferdinand’s ice cream; WSU tree fruit research and Extension faculty and ag-industry members offering apples; WSU Eggert Family Organic Farm students with their fresh produce; the Horticulture Club; members of the Department of Entomology offering honey made by WSU bees; members of the Department of Apparel Merchandising, Design, and Textiles showcasing student-made apparel creations, among others.
“Every booth at the Harvest Market tells a story,” said Raj Khosla, Cashup Davis Family Endowed Dean of the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. “Each product was developed to help solve a challenge, train a future graduate, or help improve our state’s health, wellbeing, and prosperity. Come and taste the ingenuity of our land-grant mission.”
Showcasing Washington agriculture, the Oct. 2 Ag Innovation Market will feature the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, Northwest Cherries, USA Pears, the Washington Grain Commission, Dairy West, AgWest Farm Credit Services, Fay Ranches, Adams Tractor, and the Washington State Potato Commission, which will offer free French fry samples.
Both markets will include free Cosmic Crisp® apples. Known for its juicy, sweet-tart flavor and crisp snap, this apple was selected against thousands of others to provide a superior fruit for Washington growers. Sales of Cosmic Crisp® support WSU research and apple breeding.
Sept. 25 will mark the Cosmic Crisp® hot air balloon‘s fourth annual visit to the Pullman campus.
“We’ve been all over the world with this balloon,” said pilot Steve Wilkinson. “Everywhere we land, it’s a hit. Cougar fans come up to us constantly and tell us they love it. Families take their Christmas photos with it.”
The balloon will be lit from within during a night glow from 5-6:30 p.m. on Friday, and Wilkinson will fly the craft over Pullman during the weekend, weather permitting.
WSU mascot Butch T. Cougar will attend both markets from 4 to 5 p.m.
• Contact: Seth Truscott, College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences, 509-335-8164, struscott@wsu.edu
Lindsay Brown, Associate Director of Athletics for Performance Nutrition and Student-Athlete Dining, lindsay.brown@wsu.edu