Royal City residents are invited to use a little elbow grease and celebrate the fall harvest at the inaugural New West Apple Press Fest.
Community members can chop, smash and press apples and take home some fresh, non-alcoholic apple cider at the inaugural New West Apple Press Fest on Sunday, Oct. 2.
“It’s welcome to all. It’s an opportunity to make juice with your neighbours,” said organizer Mark Gifford. “It’s a fun, family-friendly event that actually helps neighbours connect, but also it’s a nice hands-on activity for folks to do that might not think too much about fruit-to-juice.”
Gifford, who grew up in Creston, has fond childhood memories of harvesting apples and making apple juice each fall with his family and friends. Gifford's son Isaiah and Gifford's friend Will Mah and son Leo have helped organize Sunday’s event.
“I have been wanting to do a neighbourhood project,” said Gifford, a New West school trustee. “My son and I had participated in a similar event in East Van with some friends of mine that have done it for a couple years now. It’s been a real blast for him and myself. We thought, Why not try it in New West?”
Apples are optional for the New West Apple Press Fest, but jars are mandatory for the BYOJ (bring your own jar) event. Buy-Low Foods has donated about 1,000 pounds of apples and some residents are bringing apples that will be put through some vintage cider presses.
“We will be heating it up so there will be hot apple cider for people to sip on that they have just made, and they can take home a jar of it too,” Gifford said. “It should be fun.”
The festival, which includes games and music, takes place on Sunday, Oct. 2 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Lord Kelvin Elementary School, 1010 Hamilton St.
“That area of New West and some of the West End actually had orchards. There’s quite a number of heritage threes throughout the neighbourhood,” Gifford noted. “It’s been a chance for me to meet neighbours just by asking them about their relationship with their apple tree. It’s been kind of neat that way to see the ecology of it.”
