Shepherdstown Peach Festival attendees pick out some fresh peaches to take home with them, on the lawn of New Street United Methodist Church on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

SHEPHERDSTOWN — When freezing weather hit the Eastern Panhandle unexpectedly in the spring, it damaged a large percentage of the peaches being grown at local orchards. This led to a peach shortage in the area, including at Twin Ridge Orchard in Shepherdstown — the longtime source of peaches for the annual Shepherdstown Peach Festival at New Street United Methodist Church (UMC).

“We found out in April. The freeze apparently took out the peach crop, all the way down to Virginia,” said festival organizer Margaret Rose Peterson.

Peterson said she and her fellow church members were determined not to allow the shortage to force the event’s cancellation. After weeks of searching for an alternate option in the Eastern Panhandle and surrounding states, Peterson learned that Orr’s Farm Market would have the best price available for the quantity of peaches needed — 13-and-a-half bushels. However, the cost of the peaches would be higher than in years’s past, due to their value increasing because of the shortage. This price exceeded the amount of money reserved from last year’s festival, which would have previously been more than enough to cover the expense. Peterson expressed her gratitude for the generosity of her fellow congregants, who donated the funds needed to cover the extra cost.

“Fortunately, it turned out okay,” Peterson said, mentioning Orr’s then surprised them by giving them one-and-a-half extra bushels, on top of what they paid for.

Regardless of there being a peach shortage, there was no shortage of interest in peach products at this year’s festival, which was held at the church on Saturday. Peterson said that, based on pre-orders, they knew they needed to bake 18 peach crisp trays and 117 peach pies for this year’s festival — three more of each than they had made for last year’s festival. Additionally, they increased the quarts of peach ice cream they made, from 78 to 82.

New Street United Methodist Church member Becky Lidgerding, center, directs a family through the ordering process at the Shepherdstown Peach Festival on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

“It’s all about the peaches. They’re so good,” said Sharpsburg, Md. resident Teri MacDonald. “I love everything about this church and this festival.”

MacDonald and her husband, Hank, satisfied their peach cravings with some peach crisp, alongside their friends, Boonsboro, Md. residents Geoff Littrell and Wende Huang.

“Too many festivals like this get overwhelmed by the vendors, with their Elvis clocks and cat toys. This one is clearly focused on peaches,” Littrell said, adding that he was already looking forward to attending the festival again next year.

For longtime festival volunteer Ned Pitzer, their response was no surprise.

“People know when they come here that they are going to get quality food. It’s all homemade,” Pitzer said. “And even more than being a food event, it’s a social event — people look forward to coming here and seeing people they haven’t seen since, possibly, the last festival.”

Nancy Cleaver, left, hands an order out of New Street United Methodist Church's dining room to Ned Pitzer, to deliver it to a customer at the Shepherdstown Peach Festival on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

In spite of the challenges the Shepherdstown Peach Festival faced this year, Peterson said plans are already in place for the two-decades-old tradition to return in 2026.

“It’s been an interesting year, for sure, but it’s all good,” Peterson said. “We knew we couldn’t cancel this thing.”

From left to right, Boonsboro, Md. residents Geoff Littrell and Wende Huang chat with Sharpsburg, Md. residents Teri and Hank MacDonald at the Shepherdstown Peach Festival on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston

New Street United Methodist Church member Carol Goldthorpe, right, accepts a menu order form from a couple at the Shepherdstown Peach Festival on Saturday. Photo by Tabitha Johnston