A Big Star from Star Trek Visited the ’68 Wenatchee Apple Blossom Festival

The Washington State Apple Blossom Festival will crown a queen and two princesses who will reign over the 2026 festival on February 14th.  The coronation will kick off a whirlwind of events for the 107th annual festival running April 23rd through May 3rd in Wenatchee.

READ MORE:  Top 10 Candidates To Vie For Apple Blossom Royalty

Tthe highlight of the festival is the Apple Blossom Grand Parade.

If you were in Wenatchee in the late 1960's, here is a little stroll down memory lane when a huge television star appeared in the parade.

Fans thrilled at the sight of none other than DeForest Kelley, from the hit show Star Trek,in May of 1968.  Kelley portrayed Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy on Start Trek starting in 1966 and a host of Star Trek films that followed over the years.

Kelley and his wife were invited to Wenatchee to serve as Grand Marshal of the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival Grand Parade.

By many accounts, he graciously signed autographs and posed for photographs with fans, the instant-developing Polaroid variety of the day.

One fan in particular was Kristine Smith, who drove all the way from Cle Elum with her friend Corean to the big city of Wenatchee, just to see Kelley in person.

Get our free mobile app

Smith's encounter would mark the beginning of an amazing relationship with the TV  star and his wife until his death.  Smith writes about her life with the Kelley's  in her 2015 book "DeForest Kelley Up Close and Personal: A Harvest of Memories from the Fan Who Knew Him Best."  It's available on Amazon

Smith's first encounter with her Star Trek 'hero" was also covered in a newspaper account shared on the Facebook group "I Grew Up in Washington."

Kelley died of stomach cancer at age 79 in his Woodland Hills, CA, home near Los Angeles.