Video and audio by Victoria Young; text by Laura Purvis

Jesmond Apple Day took place at West Jesmond Allotment on the afternoon of October 14th.

Despite dull weather, 350 residents came along to enjoy the annual celebration. The event was hosted by Fiona Clarke from West Jesmond Allotments Association.

Jesmond Apple Day from Victoria Young on Vimeo.

Apple Day was first celebrated in the UK in 1990 and was created to encourage people to celebrate and make the most of apples and the wider harvest. Jesmond has had its own celebration of this annual event since 2011.

As well as the allotments, thousands of the apples used on the day had been collected from Jesmond Community Orchard. Many of the people involved in setting up and hosting the event work on the orchard as well as their own allotments.

Allotment owner Ms. Conway said: “The orchard here has been doing really well, and I actually now have a few trees on my allotment so I get the apples from that. I make apple, rhubarb, ginger and fruit chutney with cheese. It’s really worth having an allotment.

“It’s a good thing to bring everyone together.”

As well as displaying apples grown in the orchard, the event was a chance for guests to bring their own apples to be identified  and to learn about some other ones.

A juice making stall was very popular, especially with children wanting to get involved in the process.