A welcome Situation.

• Position: GO!

Byline: Barbara M. Houle

COLUMN: TABLE HOPPIN'

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino created a situation Sept. 23 at Julio's Liquors in Westboro.

All good stuff.

MTV's "Jersey Shore" cast member arrived an hour late for his appearance at a bottle signing for Devotion Vodka (he's a partner and brand ambassador of Devotion) at Julio's.

No one seemed rattled. It was a very friendly crowd that started lining up two hours before Sorrentino's scheduled appearance at 6 p.m. The line outside wrapped around the building. Inside, it snaked in and out of sectioned-off areas.

But when he finally arrived, Sorrentino greeted fans of all ages for more than two hours. He took a short break during the signing and told fans, "I'll be right back."

The crowd loved the guy. No talk of "Jersey Shore" with fans. He would have been there until the wee hours of the morning if he had dished about the show. I have to say Sorrentino was very gracious, smiling and posing for photos with fans. He even signed sports T-shirts worn by young fans. A couple of people had him sign their cell phones. A bonus since it was a bottle signing.

Sorrentino, who wore dark glasses, sported a blinged-out rosary necklace from his jewelry line. So did members of his entourage.

Kudos to Ryan Maloney, owner of Julio's, for a well-organized event. He arranged to have a photographer on premise, and she took photos of Sorrentino with fans that were posted on Julio's website the day after the event. Talk about downloads! Two dollars of every bottle of Devotion Vodka sold at the event was donated to the locally based Pink Revolution Breast Cancer Alliance.

When the signing was over, Sorrentino and entourage headed for Boston - dinner and nightclubbing. Looking for another situation, you think?

September Apple Month, as proclaimed by the state Department of Agricultural Resources, is coming to a close, but the celebration will continue at local orchards.

Don't worry, there are plenty of apples to go around.

Did you know that New England boasts more than 100 varieties of apples and that there are approximately 369 apple farms in Massachusetts?

The state also ranks 12th nationally for the production of apples and 40 percent of apple growers market their apples directly to consumers through roadside farm stand, farmers markets and pick-your-own operations.

Visit www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/map.htm for information and locations on apple varieties and orchards in Massachusetts.

Many restaurants use local...