With the heady scent of apples in the air, the sticky sweetness of freshly extracted honey and the whiz of apples flung from a six-foot-tall wooden trebuchet, this SundayB次元官网网址檚 (Oct. 5) Metchosin Apple Festival has something for everyone.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a great time, and people are always taken aback that we give so much away for free,B次元官网网址� says Derek Wulff, co-organizer of the event. B次元官网网址淲e have free taste testing for cider (and) applesauce and you can taste test different kinds of heritage apples.B次元官网网址�
And for slightly more than free at a few dollars, apple enthusiasts can make their own apple pies, try their hand at crafting a honey-based facial scrub or blend a beeswax body balm.
B次元官网网址淚t is a fundraiser for the Metchosin Foundation,B次元官网网址� Wulff says.
B次元官网网址淏ut itB次元官网网址檚 not about making money. ItB次元官网网址檚 about empowering people to do things for themselves, so that theyB次元官网网址檒l think B次元官网网址榤aybe IB次元官网网址檒l get some local apples and make my own applesauce or juice.B次元官网网址� The premise is it gets people empowered to get involved in the making of stuff.B次元官网网址�
Wulff, who started the festival with fellow apple lovers Dan OB次元官网网址機onnell and Jennifer Burgis, says this year is abuzz with the addition of local bees and honey to the exhibits.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 an apple and bee enthusiast. Nobody does an apple and bee festival, and the bees pollinate the trees,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淗oney and bees are often at fall fairs, but often the only involvement is in judging. I thought it would be more interesting for people to actually make products with honey and beeswax.B次元官网网址�
A toy designer as well, Wulff will have a variety of table-top catapults and the trebuchet set up ready to hurl apples and other ammunition, to the delight of younger visitors.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 good fun for the kids and they learn about how you store energy in bent wood. ItB次元官网网址檚 very kinetic. And thereB次元官网网址檚 nothing wrong with kids shooting things and chasing them,B次元官网网址� he says with a laugh.
Anne Aylard will be running an apple identification booth for those mysterious strains growing in back yards and forgotten fields, Wulff will have information on grafting and beekeepers will be standing ready to answer any and all apiculture questions.
To cap the afternoon, visitors can lounge and enjoy an B次元官网网址榓pple baked teaB次元官网网址� with all sorts of delectable goodies while being serenaded by local singer Sophia Higgins.
The festival runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Metchosin Community House, 4430 Happy Valley Rd.
For more information, call 250-478-5155 or email mcahouse@telus.net.
acowan@goldstreamgazette.com
