Apple Day
Obscure apple varieties for sale, apple carving, apple peeling contests and the inimitable Karl Daymond leading the singing club
Apple Day is an annual celebration, held in October, of apples and orchards. It is celebrated mainly in the United Kingdom.
Apple Day was initiated by Common Ground in 1990 and has been celebrated in each subsequent year by people organizing hundreds of local events. Common Ground describe the day as a way of celebrating and demonstrating that variety and richness matter to a locality 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, they hope that orchards will be recognized and conserved for their contribution to local distinctiveness, including the rich diversity of wild life they support.
Apple Day events can be large or small, from apple games in a garden to large village fairs with cookery demonstrations, games, apple identification, juice and cider, gardening advice, and of course many hundreds of apple varieties.
More recently Apple Day has evolved into a weekend event, usually taking place on the Saturday and Sunday closest to Oct. 30th although a number of venues now simply use the term Apple Day for their own events which can take place anywhere in the second half of October.
The first Apple Day was on October 21, 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.
Cromford, near Matlock, Derbyshire are notorious apple promoters.
Whittington, near Lichfield in Staffordshire, the home of the John Downie crab apple, holds an annual apple day fair on the third Saturday in October, with tastings, juicing, games and apple produce.
Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire, Apple weekend 19 and 20 October 2013. Events, cookery Demonstrations, tastings etc.
Chadlington in the Cotswolds Oxfordshire celebrate Apple Day on 18 October 2014. The Locals celebrate local varieties of apples through food (hog roast with home-made apple sauce, apple cider, apple juicing etc.), with apple inspired games for all the family to enjoy.
Chepstow, a town with historical walls and noted for orchards within those walls, celebrates Apple Day
Torbay, at Cockington Court in Torquay, an Apple Day celebration has been held for the past 20 years. 2014 is no exception with whats on apple-day-2014 a wonderful fun packed event planned for 19th October 2014.
Murray Edwards College, Cambridge
Media
"Apple Day" is the title of a song by UK songwriter Phil Baggaley formerly of Song writing duo Phil and John and founder of Gold Records. The song was sung by the now defunct Harbour Lights on the Album "Leaving safe Anchorage". The song refers to the Cromford Apple Day - and likens the converting of old bruised apples into cider to spiritual renewal and invites the listener to participate with the words "I meet you down at apple day, come and bring the fruit that's fallen, we'll turn it into something new .."
See also
References
External links
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