Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse celebrates 35 years of Apple Day

Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse is celebrating 35 years of its much-loved Apple Day harvest festival on Sunday 4 October, with a packed programme of traditional demonstrations, live music, dancing, food, crafts and family-friendly activities. The annual celebration of British apples will invite visitors to discover Norfolk’s rural heritage and enjoy a day of seasonal entertainment across the museum’s 50-acre site.

Visitors can explore special heritage fruit varieties with the East of England Apples and Orchards Project and bring along a sample or photograph of their own orchard fruit to have it identified. At Union Farm – a working heritage farm with rare breed animals - visitors can enjoy traditional rural skills and machinery in action, with steam threshing, willow weaving and beekeeping demonstrations.

There will be music and performances throughout the day, with rootsy bluegrass and Americana from Cobbler Bob, alongside traditional dancing from Golden Star Morris, an inclusive Morris dancing side based in Norwich. Visitors are also invited to enter a costume competition - themed around the seasons - with prizes for adults, children and babies and judging taking place at midday. Food and drink will be at the heart of the festivities, with street food from Owie’s and Rambling Roots, and Gressenhall’s own Mardler’s Rest Café, along with cider from Norfolk Raider, whilst a fantastic selection of visiting traders will offer arts, crafts, trinkets and other treats.

At Cherry Tree Cottage - part of Village Row, a recreated 1930s village - costumed characters will offer inspiration for making the most of the final harvests of the year. Alongside the Apple Day programme, visitors can explore everything else Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse has to offer, including river walks, a woodland sensory trail and an adventure playground, alongside a museum packed with stories of rural life and work. Visitors can also discover the museum’s special exhibitions, Jacket Women, a contemporary art exhibition by printmaker Maria Pavledis; and The Clean Blue of Linen, a touring exhibition from The Gaia Foundation about flax farming.

Fiona Ashley, Events Officer, Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse, said: 'It's a huge privilege to be the custodian of Apple Day at Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse. So many people across the county look forward to this beloved annual event and the entire team are thrilled to be celebrating 35 years since Apple Day was first held on site. The years spent hosting this special celebration of autumn are full of happy memories and we look forward to making new ones this year'.

Martin Skipper, Project Manager, East of England Apples & Orchards Project, said: 'Apple Day at Gressenhall Farm & Workhouse is a real highlight of our year. Our charity's origins lie behind this autumn harvest celebration and thirty years ago we never thought it would grow to become such an important event in Norfolk's countryside calendar. Over the years we've seen and identified thousands of visitors' apples, yet discoveries are still being made - so we cannot wait to take part again this October'.