Fall Fair & Apple Fest at the Commons

Heather Menzies

Gabriola Commons

There are many reasons for Gabriolans of all ages to attend the Apple Fest/Fall Fair at the Commons on Sunday, Oct. 6th — besides to celebrate the Agi Co-op and the Commons’ collaboration in bringing this combined celebration of community and local food to life. The opening ceremony, by C’tasia Manson starts at 12:30 sharp. So come a bit early if you can.

Come for the great food, sourced from farmer-members of the Agi Co-op —  Elgie Road Farm, The Garden Bed, Watercliff, Good Earth, Somerset Farm and more–  and from local businesses like Slow Rise, Ground Up and Ravenskill. Try to come with your own dishes and cutlery if possible too –to dine sustainably!

Come also to show off vegetables and flowers from your garden, pies, jams and jellies from your kitchen, plus fabric art and pottery, and win bragging rights and ribbons when winners are announced.

Bring your dog for the dog show, possibly in costume.

Bring your apples for juicing and IDing.

Enter your high speed squash on wheels in the squash race.

Choose from a variety of accessibly priced local food items like Somerset Farm’s apple sausages on a bun, veggie burgers, potato and kale salad. Sample some freshly pressed apple juice or cider. And finish with some apple pie or one of Slow Rise’s famous apple fritters.

Wander the fair/fest grounds to check out the crafts and food items in the market area, buy raffle tickets and learn more about the many community groups such as the Gabriola Housing Society, GaLLT and the Gabriola Land Stewardship Society with information tables there.

Enjoy the kids in the games and play area, the company of friends and neighbours, and the music, starting at 3 with a local folk/bluegrass band, Dagger Harbour.

Crimson Sky, the bluegrass band from Cowichan who delighted everyone at last year’s Apple Fest, under the name Blue Grass Fever, is back in the headline spot again this year. They start at 4:30.

And come to support the Commons and Agi Co-op as well as to celebrate these two organizations in their plans for ongoing collaboration around local food security, particularly in the Commons’ Community Kitchen. Ten years old this year, the community kitchen has just purchased two new commercial-grade stoves, and tuned up the high-capacity dish washer, but the electrical infrastructure is badly in need of a significant upgrade and additional commercial cookware is also on the wishlist. The facility will even more be able to support community groups (such as the Grub Huggers and PHC), individuals hosting weddings, making products to sell at the Farmer’s Market or conducting workshops on canning, preserving and possibly even butchering.

Proceeds from food and drink sales will support both organizations in their ongoing collaboration around, for example, food-processing and other food-security-related workshops in the Commons’ Community Kitchen. For anyone who can afford to give more, a larger donation to the Commons, with a charitable receipt issued, will help sustain this important collaborative work.

Meanwhile, the co-hosting organizations are grateful for donations from Nature Spirit Earth Market, Nester’s and Ground Up to help us put on the combined Fest and Fair, plus generous sponsorship from Coastal Community Credit Union.