Annapolis Valley Apple Blossom Festival

The Apple Blossom Festival is an annual agriculture and heritage celebration held in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley usually the last weekend of May.

Established in 1933 to promote the valley's traditions and agricultural heritage, valley communities from Windsor to Digby that can afford to contribute financially, are then welcomed to come together to celebrate this special event each year, although the majority of celebrations are focused in the eastern valley communities of Kentville, and Wolfville. The festival has grown to locally be known as the Kentville Blossom Festival. The primary focus of the festival in recent decades has been to promote itself as a family event for all valley communities and visitors. The Apple Blossom Festival has become one of the most important community festivals in Atlantic Canada.

Early promoters of the festival intended for the event to recognize the scenic beauty of the Valley and the historic background of the apple growing industry, as well as to provide an opportunity to foster and develop local cultural talent through participation in festival events. As a result of change and diversification of the region's growing economy, the festival now showcases a variety of local businesses while continuing to promote local cultural talent and highlight the area's scenic beauty.

Community involvement in the festival has always been its strength. Preparation requires organizing 300 volunteers to plan and participate over a time frame of several months. However in 2006, some controversy arose when Grand Street Parade Director, Senior Corporal Wilf Andrews from the Kentville Police Department sent a letter to a 7 year volunteer informing him that due to an excess number of volunteers his services were not needed. It then surfaced in various newspapers that the Apple Blossom Festival was turning down volunteers and Senior Corporal Andrews made a comment to one paper that there had been a complaint about this volunteer's services in the past. After meetings with the President and Vice President of the Apple Blossom Festival, the conclusion was reached that there had been no formal complaint as alleged by Senior Corporal Andrews. No further explanation has been given by the Apple Blossom Committee.

Major events such as the Apple Blossom Parade and the Apple Blossom Concert are complimented by dances, barbecues, and old-style home-cooked dinners at church and community halls, and other social affairs in towns and villages throughout the length of the valley.

Many visitors come to take in a number of festival events, while also enjoying the beautiful scenery of apple orchards in full bloom (weather dependent).

The Apple Blossom Parade is a large street parade which runs from New Minas to Kentville and includes marching bands and floats sponsored by local businesses. There are also floats for participants in the festival's pagent, who are referred to as "princesses" (one representing each town in the valley). The winning princess is proclaimed "Queen Annapolisa", and she represents the area for the coming year at various events.

The annual fireworks display is sponsored by one of the region's largest employers, the Michelin tire company, which has a large plant in Waterville, a village to the west of Kentville. In the early 1990's, at Michelin's request, the Thursday night fireworks show which had always kicked off the weekend long Apple Blossom Festival, was moved to Saturday night. It was at about this time the festival started to experience lower attendance numbers to all events, resulting in questions regarding the future of the festival.

External links

* [http://www.appleblossom.com Apple Blossom Festival Website]