Summer is here, and the cranberries are blossoming!

The A.D. Makepeace Company celebrated with the first ever Cranberry Blossom Festival on Saturday, June 29.

There were guided tours of a bog, a pie-eating contest, and the top recipes from the "Make it Better With Cranberries" cookbook were announced.

This fifth edition of the cookbook showcases a plethora of uses for the cranberry. Elinor Ives won in the adult category for her zesty meatballs, while Sierra DeWalt took the youth competition with her recipe for cranberry swirl vanilla ice cream.

"We have about twelve judges and we break [the recipes] into different categories," according to Kim Houdlette of the A.D. Makepeace Company. "We rate them on appearance, cranberry flavor, originality and ease of preparation."

Attendees could sample the food featured in the cookbook at the festival, and local farmers offered produce for sale.

Glenn Reid, assistant manager of cranberry operations, accompanied festival-goers on a tour of the bogs, during which he talked about the history of the company and the process of growing cranberries.

"Cranberries were here naturally when the pilgrims came," according to Reid, who said that they were also bought by the barrel by sailors who used the berries to fight scurvy.