Festival Organizers are very pleased to be able to continue to promote the incredibly popular 2018 Theme, “Welcome Home,” with another long-anticipated return engagement. Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival® President, Mike Stanfield, is pleased to announce that best-selling author, Jason Wright, the “Apple Man,” will return to The Land of Pink and Green to once more entertain the packed house at the 70th Anniversary Ladies’ Horticultural Luncheon, sponsored by the Women’s Auxiliary of the Virginia State Horticultural Society.
Who better to deliver the keynote address at this most traditional, most storied, and most agriculturally-oriented of the Festival’s many luncheons than someone who appreciates the apple business? Jason F. Wright, political commentator turned New York Times best-selling author, has affirmed the Festival’s invitation to return to Bloomtown after a seven-year absence to speak to this immaculately turned-out assemblage of Festival ladies in their pink-and-green finery. After reading the following quotes from “The Cross Gardener,” you’ll understand why Jason was invited to this role: “My childhood was a fluid story of red apples, yellow apples; and, big brothers. They taught me the ways of the orchard. How to sleep standing up when the fall harvest took such a toll that we lost sense of whether the sun was rising or setting. When I was seven, my brothers taught me to identify the types of apples we grew. I learned that most red apples were Red Delicious, Gala, and Braeburn. The greens were easier to remember. They were Granny Smith and tasted good with peanut butter. The yellows were Golden Delicious and my favorite, Ginger Gold. I also learned how many apples made a bushel; how many bushels filled the wooden crates or bins; and, how many apples we needed to survive each year.”
Undoubtedly, a true apple man!
According to his updated biography, Jason Wright is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today best-selling author. He is also a regular columnist for Fox News and the Northern Virginia Daily. Articles by Jason have appeared in over 50 newspapers and magazines across the United States, including The Washington Times, the Chicago Tribune, and Forbes. He is the author of: “Christmas Jars,” “The Wednesday Letters,” “A Letter to Mary,” and ten other books. An earlier biography notes that he has also authored ‘The Cross Gardener,” and “The Seventeen Second Miracle;” and, that: “Jason’s themes are thought-provoking, emotional, and uplifting.” Jason is a popular speaker who speaks on faith; the joy of service; the Christmas Jars movement; the lost art of letter writing; and, many other topics. He has been seen on CNN, Fox News, CSPAN, and on local television affiliates around the country. He is the creator and host of “Giving a Lift,” an online video series featuring his rides with hitchhikers and the homeless. Jason is from Charlottesville, Virginia; but, he has also lived in Germany, Illinois, Brazil, Oregon and Utah. He is married to Kodi Erekson Wright. They have two girls, two boys, and a 110-pound Goldendoodle named Pilgrim who thinks he is a lapdog.
This Anniversary Celebration is produced by the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival® in close association with the Women’s Auxiliary of the Virginia Horticultural Society; and, is presented by Spring Arbor of Winchester. Event attendees will be pleased to note that some of Jason Wright’s books will be on sale at the Luncheon. Tickets and information may be accessed at the Festival’s Official Souvenir Store and Ticket Outlet at 2218 Wilson Boulevard. This event always sells well! Interested parties should not wait to purchase tickets!