Plymouth’s annual apple festival
Entering its fifteenth year in 2024, All Ways Apples is
Since its original creation and development by Permaculture practitioner and educator Tess Wilmot, a member of the Food Plymouth core enabling team, it has grown and expanded to become much more than a day-long festival, encompassing alongside it a programme of apple pressing and orchard care workshops in community orchard sites across Plymouth. The All Ways Apples on Tour series of micro-events neccessitated by the pandemic of 2020 has become a fixture thanks to the mobile apple press on a trailer provided by stalwart All Ways Apples supporter and facilitator Dave Curno.
Read the full report of All Ways Apples 2020 activities here.
Fast forward a year and between September and December 2021 the All Ways Apples team took part in 24 community apple events, including:
– Visiting 12 community orchards
– Harvesting from trees across the city
– Facilitating activities in primary schools
– Pressing more than 600 litres of juice
– Pasteurising over 200 bottles of juice
– Supplying mulled juice at community events
– Sharing abundance with Time Banks and Food Banks
– Supporting 13 community groups in caring for their fruit trees
… and encouraging people to taste the wonderful fruit grown in the city, while reducing waste.
Plymouth City Council’s Green Minds project was their key funder that year, with additional funding from Plymouth Community Homes, Nudge Community Builders and local Councillors from Ernesettle and Stonehouse. A new collaboration involved Plymstock Doctors surgeries around a community growing initiative at Down Horn Park (Community Garden Design Group – Down Horn Park).
Building on the success of the All Ways Apples On Tour micro events in 2020, even more communities were visited, with activities including tree care, harvesting, juicing and pasteurising. Much of the freshly pressed apple juice was enjoyed at the events, directly from the press. Fruit was harvested from all across the city and shared widely, working with orchard volunteers and encouraging new people to get involved in these wonderful spaces. Find the All Ways Apples On Tour 2021 report here.
All Ways Apples 2024
After a successful programme of events in both 2022 and 2023, this year’s All Ways Apples Festival is taking place on Wednesday 30th October 11am-4pm at Devonport Guildhall. This year will see a focus on celebrating the history and culture of apples across the globe, tasting many local varieties and sharing recipes from around the world. Follow all the latest news and update via the All Ways Apples Facebook page.