Apple Day 2013

Apple Day Saturday 12th October  2013

More Apple Day photos by

• Caroline Barton: http://tinyurl.com/ok4gdbc
• Artillery: http://www.flickr.com/photos/106281438@N06/

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Now in its 13th year, Apple Day is at the ‘core’ of the Walthamstow Village’s celebrations, and takes place 11-4pm on Saturday 12th October 2013; as usual it will be held in the beautiful gardens of Vestry House Museum E17 9NH.

This celebration of everything “appley” drew over 1,300 visitors last year, and is a buzzing, local, family-oriented event which distributes funds raised to good causes in the area. So do come and join us for some apple activities and apple-tastic refreshments.

Activities this year will include traditional games such as apple bobbing, a challenge to make the longest length of apple peel, guess the weight (3 different sizes of apple), and William Tell … hit the apple using a bow and arrow. There will also be candle rolling, and the ever popular apple crushing & juicing using Organiclea’s press, as well as tattoos and face painting.

As in previous years, there will be a special craft activity tent for younger children where they can recycle card packaging & magazines to make small carrier bags and decorate them in a fun way.

On sale in the refreshment hall will be many cakes & deserts baked by local people and students from Waltham Forest College, and locally produced honey, jams & chutneys. To balance the sugar intake Hornbeam Cafe will be serving healthy vegetarian savoury food & snacks, and offering the opportunity to slake your thirst at its organic cider bar.

Additionally there will be organic apple tasting & sales,  eco books, plant sales, apple tree sales & advice, and stalls run by Vestry House Museum Gardeners, WF LETS, Transition Walthamstow and Friends of the Earth.

We will hear musical performances from Chris Hill, Tori Freestone and Jez Franks, and The Singing Room choir.

Suggested donation is £1 per adult, which also includes entry into a raffle; children get in free.

Many local businesses generously donated raffle prizes despite our challenging economic times:

• Walthamstow Farmers Market: Food hamper
• Vestry House Museum: Selection of gifts
• Hornbeam Café: Meal & drinks for two
• OrganicLea: Organic vegetable bag

Orford Road

• Beautiful Interiors (no. 34): Soaps, bath salts, candle
• Edufantastic Toys (no. 19): £10 voucher
• Petals in Bloom (no. 19): £10 voucher
• Village Spar (nos. 24-26): Bottle of red wine & chocolates

Beulah Road

• Abstract (no. 54) : Handmade knitted apples
• Fox and Bear (no. 52) : £25 voucher
• The Salon (no. 74) : Free hair treatment

Loads of cakes were baked by local people, including a large car boot full provided by students from Waltham Forest College.

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Apple Day is coordinated by Transition Walthamstow, supported by

• Hornbeam Centre
• OrganicLea
• Vestry House Museum, and
• Walthamstow Village Residents’ Association.

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The event is run by  volunteers, with profits this year to be shared equally between 4 local good causes: Carefree Kids, The Limes, Sprout There, and Vestry House Museum Gardeners.

Note: Unfortunately the Sharp side had to cancel their morris dancing display due to illness.

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Apple Day Volunteering

Apple Day is the Village’s biggest event of the year, and relies upon the efforts of dozens of volunteers who offer their time and skills to make it such a great day for local people.

Teresa and Paul are seeking volunteers to help out… could you donate a cake, assist in the kitchen, support equipment set up, or help out on a stall to make this as successful as ever? The team are seeking volunteers for the following activities:

• Cooking & baking. donations of home-made cakes, (not necessarily apple-themed), apple pies, puddings, jams and chutneys. Teresa
• Kitchen support. 10.30 am to 4.30pm Sat 12th : serving refreshments, taking payment. If you can only spare an hour or two, that’s fine. Teresa
• Site set up. 1pm – 6.30pm Friday 11th, or 9.30am – 11am Saturday 12th: unloading & unpacking crates, setting up stalls, helping with displays. Paul
• Event support. 11 am to 4pm Sat 12th: front desk welcome/donations, litter picking, helping stall holders, assisting visitors, photography. Paul
• Site take down. 4-5.30pm Sat 12th: packing & loading crates, stall storage, litter picking, unloading into Hornbeam loft. Paul

Why do we have Apple Day?

Apple Day was originally created as a way of celebrating and demonstrating the variety we are in danger of losing – not simply in apples, but richness and diversity of landscape, place, ecology and culture too. Its success has shown what the apple means to us and how much we need local celebrations in which, year after year, everyone can be involved. In city, town and country, Apple Day events have fostered local pride, celebrated and deepened interest in local distinctiveness.

Do you have too much fruit?

Organiclea runs a ‘scrumping’ project in Waltham Forest to make use of the amazing abundance of fruit in the borough at this time of year. Many of the apples to be pressed on Apple Day will be locally picked, including some from Vestry House Museum’s own tree! If you have more fruit than you can handle, why not bring your surplus along on apple day? Or if you are unable to pick it yourself, contact Organiclea who can come and pick it for you. Call 020 8558 6880 or email marlene@organiclea.org.uk The fruit is used to make juice at community events and to sell on market stalls and any money raised is fed back in to this local project. 

Alternatively contact London Glider, who may be able to pick your tree and create cider & perry which they sell: http://www.londonglider.com/

Fruit mapping

• Falling fruit – Mapping the urban harvest: http://fallingfruit.org/
• Fruitloader – Mobile foraging and fruit mapping app: http://www.fruitloader.com/