CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — Unseasonably warm temperatures didn’t deter visitors from a fall celebration with deep roots.
GROWFEST, an event to support the nonprofit GROW programs, was held Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, at Kazimour Farm and Orchard, 2630 Otis Rd. SE, with sales of fresh apples, pumpkins, cut flowers, baked goods and family-friendly activities.
Visitors could feed chickens, pet a pony, play games and walk through the apple orchard.
The festival supports GROW — Growing Real Opportunities for Work — a nonprofit launched in 2023 to empower adults with disabilities through agriculture.
GROWFEST celebrated the fall season with family-friendly activities at Kazimour Farm and Orchard. (photo/Cindy Hadish)
Kory Kazimour, vice president of GROW’s board of directors, said dozens of trees are still producing apples that her grandparents planted years ago, while new trees will bear fruit in the coming years.
John and Mary Kazimour started the farm in 1919, with more than 2,500 apple trees at its peak, she said.
Doug Elam of Cedar Rapids dressed the part of a yeoman farmer to demonstrate an apple cider press.
“Apple cider was the Gatorade of its day,” he said, noting most family farms grew the trees to provide apples for eating, for cider, vinegar and hard apple cider.
Visitors at GROWFEST could buy fresh cider, along with three varieties of apples picked directly from the Kazimour orchard.
See more photos from GROWFEST, below:
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