As a final celebration of an epic harvest season, a Community Fruit Harvest Festival will be held this Sunday from 1pm-6pm at the Valley Project in North East Valley.
The event will go ahead rain or shine.
Community Fruit Harvest co-ordinator Tamsin Leigh said the afternoon event would include apple pressing, stalls, music and workshops, apple variety tastings, and fun harvest-related activities for children.
"It’s great to be able to top off a fantastic harvest by pressing and juicing the last of the apples and giving out fresh juice to our community members," Ms Leigh said.
"This has been a huge year — bigger than we have ever done before.
"We need about half a dozen more volunteers to help with the washing, chopping, and pressing of the apples, and the bottling of the juice on the day."
People who came along to help at the harvest festival were also invited to bring empty plastic bottles to store the juice in, she said.
Workshops at the Valley Project community rooms would include wine-making and a talk on the traditional technique of landrace gardening, and the on-site stalls will include George St Orchard and Habitate Edible Habitats.
The Community Fruit Harvest’s major funder Our Food Network will be giving away the edible garden resource booklet and vegetable planting calendars to every fifth person who signs up.
"There will also be some time to look at what our Ōtepoti Community Fruit harvesting team has achieved this season and officially thank our amazing volunteers," Ms Leigh said.
A highlight of the Community Fruit Harvest Festival will be the launch of a seed and plant swap project, from 3pm, plus the official opening of the Valley Project Seed Library at 3.30pm.
"The seed library will be a place where local people can go to find seeds to grow in their gardens, and also where gardeners can donate their seeds for others to access," she said.
The opening would be a chance for people to learn about the project and to hear about other seed projects in the city.
- Anyone who would like to volunteer to help with the apple pressing should phone (021) 0273-1251, or email communityfruitotepoti@gmail.com
