Skip to content

Apple Festival a huge success

Apples, already picked from local trees, are washed, snitzed and squished into applesauce. Now it's time to get to work. The first light of dawn illuminates Thormanby Island, and a tug heads to the Fraser with yet another load of timber. By 7 a.m.

Apples, already picked from local trees, are washed, snitzed and squished into applesauce. Now it's time to get to work.

The first light of dawn illuminates Thormanby Island, and a tug heads to the Fraser with yet another load of timber.

By 7 a.m. a fire is built with seasoned maple and no less than 90 liters of applesauce goes into a big, old copper kettle and the constant stirring begins. This is a hypnotic whole body figure-of-eight motion with a wooden paddle made especially for the purpose.

The labour is physical, but the time goes quickly in conversation with neighbors and friends who come throughout the day to take a turn.

The stirring goes on until 5 p.m. at beautiful Coopers Green until the sauce has simmered down thick enough to stay on a saucer when inverted. Then in goes sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves. Now it is apple butter.

A fresh group of hard-working folk gets busy and ladles the good stuff into jars, and processes in a water bath, ready to be sold the next day.

The next day Coopers Green hall is all decorated with grandma quilts, apple memorabilia, and larger than life dancing paper people. It smells like cinnamon and apple.

Vendors arrive and put up canopies to sell plants, preserves, local produce, apple-squash soup, and apple pie. Candy apples, apple crisp, and the yummy apple butter are for sale, with proceeds going to the Halfmoon Bay Child Care Society.

A children's activity tent soon starts swarming with wee ones making appley things and a lovely fun mess. Meanwhile many are drawn back in the hall as the country sound of Joe Stanton gets toes tapping.

Little people with tiny violin cases arrive and soon all are enjoying the Suzuki Violin Play-in. The Cornpones play some more apple songs and next the little people make the big people dance a waltz and the Virginia Reel.

Meanwhile, outdoors, the copper kettle is taken off the fire with a second batch of apple butter ready, and the wiener sticks come out. Guitars, fiddles, autoharps, and mandolins circle up for jam and sing-along, while passers-by enjoy listening. The kettle is cleaned inside with a corn cob and a little vinegar and salt.

Work followed by play keeps the old traditions alive and well in Halfmoon Bay. There are many to thank for the third successful year.