National Apple Day

National Apple Day

Apple Day is an annual celebration of apples and orchards held on the 21^st of October each year and is mainly celebrated in the United Kingdom.

Apple Day was founded by Common Ground – a charity and lobby group in 1990 and has been celebrated each year since by people organising hundreds of local events. Common Ground’s focus for Apple Day is a celebration of the hundreds of apple varieties which over the years seem to be ignored in favour of a handful of supermarket-friendly strains yet also demonstrates that variety and richness matter to a neighbourhood and that it is possible to effect change in “your place”.

Common Ground has used the apple as “a symbol of the physical / cultural and genetic diversity we should not let slip away. In linking particular apples with their place of origin Common Ground hope that orchards will be recognised and conserved for their contribution to local distinctiveness and including the rich diversity of wild life they support.”

Apple Day events can be large or small from apple games in the garden to large village fetes that include: cookery demonstrations / games / apple identification / apple juices / cider / gardening advice and of course many different varieties of apples.

More recently Apple Day has evolved into a weekend event usually taking place on the Saturday and Sunday closest to the 21^st October although a number of venues now simply use the term Apple Day for their own events which can take place anytime during the second half of October.

The first ever Apple Day was held on 21^st October 1990 in Covent Garden - London.

Places that celebrate Apple Day

Tring - Hertfordshire: events throughout October including Tring's Own Apple Fayre at Jeacock's Orchard. Visit www.tringapplefayre.com for a full list of events and more details.

Cromford near Matlock in Derbyshire will be hosting its 17^th annual Apple Day on Saturday October 20^th (today) on Scarthin Promenade from 1p.m. until 5 p.m. As is usual the central activity will be pressing apples to juice (you’re advised to bring your own apples / plastic bottles / a chopping board and knives) - there will be Morris Dancing / Folk Music / stalls / games / a demonstration of tree-trunk-carving and an apple pie / crumble / strudel / tart competition - bring your entry along. If the weather is inclement a marquee will be erected. For more information check out: http://www.cromfordvillage.co.uk/

Peterborough – Cambridgeshire: The Green Backyard will be hosting their own Apple Day on Sunday 21^st October between 11am – 4.pm. You’re advised to bring along your foraged apples for events such as: apple bobbing / cider pressing / wild food mapping and a longest peel competition.

Why not try apple-bobbing?

For more information please check out:

https://www.facebook.com/thegreenbackyard/posts/127744677373414

Written by: Andria Owen