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Apple festival marks 10 years in Langley

The taste of heritage apples is on offer in a Langley park.
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One-year-old Morgan Friesen munched on a few apples at the 2014 Heritage Apple Day. This year’s event takes is Oct. 3

The crisp taste and crunchy texture of a fall apple have a long history in Langley, and what Heritage Apple Day is all about.

The 10th anniversary of Heritage Apple Day will take place Saturday, Oct. 3, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Derby Reach Regional Park.

The annual event celebrates and spreads knowledge of heritage apples, and the role apples and orchards played in the early settlement of the area.

Taking place at the Heritage Area off Allard Crescent, the festival is located near one of the oldest orchards in British Columbia, noted Joakim Nilsson, one of the organizers of the event.

Over the years, the event has changed.

The first Apple Day in 2006 consisted mostly of volunteers clearing out brush and brambles off some of the ancient apple trees along the shore of the Fraser River.

Since then, volunteers have added entertainment and educational events, have unveiled a “floating” apple orchard planted above ground (so as not to disturb possible archaeological sites) and hosted historical re-enactors.

But one thing has been constant: each Heritage Apple Day has involved an apple tasting.

A few highlights of this year’s event will include:

• Local historian Jane Watt will give talks about the history of the Heritage Area.

• There will be 20 pounds of Blushing Susans for tasting. The variety was developed in 1993.

• Historical re-enactors will demonstrate black powder muskets.

• Plein air artists will be at work in the park.

• There will also be interactive games and pioneer chores for the kids to try.

• There will be plenty of heritage varieties of apples, many of them not commonly grown in decades, available to taste.

The event is sponsored by the Derby Reach/Brae Island Parks Association with assistance from Metro Vancouver Regional Parks, the Pacific Parklands Foundation and the Township of Langley.

 



Matthew Claxton

About the Author: Matthew Claxton

Raised in Langley, as a journalist today I focus on local politics, crime and homelessness.
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