NORTHERN NUT GROWERS ASSOCIATION, INC.

National Chestnut Week
The Ultimate No-Brainer
by Carolyn Young

We were sitting around one evening last Spring following a church dinner when the conversation turned to all the National "this" weeks and "that" weeks--everything from National Resurrect Romance Week, National Smile Week, National Dark Sky Week, National Postcard Week, National Payroll Week, ad nauseum. You get the idea. Ray and I looked at each other and simultaneously said, "National Chestnut Week - why not?" We talked with others in the Western Chestnut Growers Association. who liked the idea and so brought it to the annual meeting in late June where it was unanimously adopted as a great marketing tool for growers.

The week selected was the second full week in October-Sunday through Saturday-a time when chestnuts are available everywhere in the country. This year that's October 12-18. Sales are typically heaviest in November and December so the hope here is that sales will increase earlier in the season, thus lengthening the sales period.

It's not always easy to get press releases published when they're chestnut--generic, but an article about an event--now that's a different matter. What if every grower in the country hosted an open house at their orchard sometime during National Chestnut Week--or maybe there's some kind of community celebration where you could participate and make National Chestnut Week known. Agritourism is big business today. People who live in crowded conditions in our major metropolitan areas are looking for ways to relax and have fun. A day in the country for the family where they can taste a new food and learn something about life on a farm may be just what they want.

We're planning an open house for Sunday, October 12, from noon until 5:00 pm. Some of the ideas we're considering include demonstrations of our sweeper, harvester, sorter, and polisher. A peek in the fridge where nuts are stored and a look at our commercial kitchen will probably also be on the agenda. We'll probably have a cooking contest with a prize for the best chestnut recipe. For the kids we've even been thinking about creating a "chestnut math" booklet. If the trees are laid out in a triangular pattern with 25' between any 2 trees, how much area does one tree cover? (Old math teachers die hard!) Our biggest draw will probably be our garden maze. It's a modified version of the Hampton Court Maze located just outside London. At four years of age it's becoming a serious challenge. We'll also make sure to get on the local newspaper's calendar of events for that week and will also contact local TV and radio stations with the same announcement. And of course we're including a page on National Chestnut Week on our website. Take a look and see if it gives you any ideas: http://www.ChestnutsOnLine.com/nationalchestnutweek.htm. What possibilities exist at your orchard? Be creative and think outside the box. We all need to put as much effort into selling our crop as we do in growing it. National Chestnut Week should be a big help in making this come about.

Ed. Note--For an example of one community's efforts to promote domestic chestnuts, click here to see the accompanying article on Michigan's Cadillac Chestnut Harvest Festival by Dennis Fulbright.