A Sweet Start to the New Year: Apple Picking at Baugher’s Orchard

September 30, 2026 | Events

By Lindsay Gaister Montague

There’s something about apple picking that just feels like fall—the tractor ride into the orchard, searching the trees for the perfect apple, and heading home with a bag full of fruit. And when apple-picking season arrives just before Rosh Hashanah, the tradition feels even sweeter.

Early in September, nearly 200 members of our community joined The Jewish Connection Network and our partners at the JCC for apple picking at Baugher’s Orchard for a morning of apple picking, music, new and familiar faces, and plenty of opportunities to connect.

Singing, Picking and a Whole Lot of Apples

Families sang together with song leader Brian Singer before hopping aboard tractors for a ride into the orchard, where kids and grown-ups filled their bags—and probably sampled an apple or two along the way.

Once we arrived among the trees, everyone was off in search of their favorites. Little hands reached for apples hanging from the lowest branches while grown-ups helped with the ones that were just out of reach. Families compared their finds, kids proudly showed off particularly impressive apples, and bags got heavier and heavier as the morning went on.

With Rosh Hashanah approaching, there was something especially meaningful about watching families pick the apples that might soon make their way onto their own holiday tables. Apples and honey are one of the most familiar traditions of Rosh Hashanah, symbolizing our hopes for a sweet year ahead. Being able to experience the tradition together—right from the orchard—made it feel even more special.

The Sweetest Part? Being Together.

As wonderful as the apples were, some of our favorite moments from the morning happened between the trees.

Everywhere we looked, people were connecting. Grandparents picked alongside grandchildren. Families ran into friends they already knew, while others struck up conversations with people they were meeting for the first time. Kids explored together while their grown-ups had a chance to talk, laugh and get to know one another.

Those moments are what made the morning about so much more than apple picking.

One of the things we love most about bringing families together is watching connections happen naturally. Sometimes it starts with discovering that your children are the same age, realizing you live around the corner from one another, or simply chatting while waiting for the next tractor. You never know which quick conversation might be the beginning of a new friendship.

Carrying the Sweetness With Us

As families headed home with full bags of apples, we hope they also left with new memories, new connections and maybe even a new friend or two.

Thank you to everyone who joined us, to Brian Singer for filling our morning with music, to our Carroll County connectors who helped co-create the event, and to our partners at the JCC for helping us put together such a joyful intergenerational experience.

We may have come together to pick apples, but we left with something even sweeter—the memories made, conversations shared, and connections that will last long after the last apple is gone.

Looking for family-friendly events? Check out our Experiences Calendar