Apple day 2021

100’s of people turned up and enjoyed what Apple Day had to offer in St Ives Community Orchard on Sunday. There was much dancing and wonderful live music throughout the day provided by Tito el Pato, Music lovers Penwith, Johanna Hillebrand, Sandy Acre 7 and a final song by Louella Jade Eke. Sandy Acre 7 were full of energy and got lots of people dancing despite the sudden rain shower, luckily the event was well prepared for rain with lots of tent cover for the audience and bands.

The Orchard bar were serving their own apple cider & juice (made from last year’s apples), fabulous apple inspired cocktails and a keg of Consols Bitter beer that is brewed locally in St Ives and was donated to them. There were lots of pizzas made in the cob oven and BBQ cooked up to feed the hungry souls. Plenty of activities, picking and pressing apples with Duwayne Langley,  learning to use a pottery kickwheel and making clay tiles with Jo Howard, making willow headresses with Jo Dereza,  forest school crafts with Helen Carver and printing bags with Elise Worrall. There were walks and talks throughout the day; an Orchard tour with Elise, a tree walk with Mark Nankervis, a talk about saving seeds with Jo Riley and a talk by Viv Stratton on the natural history of Penbeagle farm & the hillside where St Ives Community Orchard and Nature Reserve now stand.

The Apple pie competition had 5 entries with a panel of judges enjoying the taste testing and the winner Gabrielle McVey was presented with a wooden trophy.

Big thank you’s to all the volunteers who ran the bar and cooked up all the pizzas, a lot of money was raised thanks to them, which will all go towards more good stuff happening in the orchard. Thanks also to St Ives Foodshare who provided all the ingredients for the BBQ, Mathew Stevens Cornish Fish who allowed us to use their electricity and Jabula Tents who provided the stretch tent cover.