Skip to content

Applefest 2019 was a sweet slice of fun

On Oct. 5, the cove smelled like apple pie. It was a sunny day.
Arthur Davies (of the Davies Orchard Davies)
Arthur Davies (of the Davies Orchard Davies) and Bowen Mayor Gary Ander discuss the ins and outs of apple pie judging.

On Oct. 5, the cove smelled like apple pie. It was a sunny day. Makenna was playing guitar under a 130-year-old apple tree and hundreds of smiling faces made their way down cottage lane to Applefest to a community event made possible thanks to the generous support of dozens of our community’s volunteers.

Cider apple display, museum cottage, kids activities, Metro parks interpreters, bee keepers, face painters, youth buskers, tea and scones at the Rocking Horse café, slices of apple pie, apple tasting samples, candy apples, apple pies, smoked apple salts, apple jam, fresh apples, apple information, apple cider press, biggest maple leaf measuring, pie contest judges were all part of Applefest.

Applefest was made possible thanks to the hard work of the Bowen Heritage Preservation Association (BIHPA) Board members, the Farmers Marketeers, Bees on Bowen, youth volunteers, Metro parks interpreters and staff, Bowen Municipal and Tourism volunteers and the wonderful jump-in and help out at the last minute Bowen volunteers. There were so many elements to the event, it was like juggling a bushel of apples all at once!

In the three hours of Applefest, around five hundred people visited Davies Orchard to sip, sample, see, sit and socialize in the sun. The weather was perfect, and everyone seemed happy, appreciative and interested to learn about the importance of Bowen’s heritage and about our agriculture, past and present. Around one hundred pies were sold, and there was everything from baked goods to Bowen-grown apples to buy and try.

The annual pie-making contest was a serious affair as ever, with judges deliberating over a multi-point professional pie contest score sheet that lead to the clear winner being Ender Tan’s “Thanksgiving on Bowen” apple pie. One of the special judges this year was Arthur Davies, a BIHPA board member and descendant of the Davies family who originally planted Davies orchard in 1887.

The Bowen Island Heritage Preservation Association is a small group of local volunteers who believe in the importance of preserving, celebrating and educating our past, with a special focus on the Davies Orchard cottages and apple and fruit trees. Nestled in Davies Orchard, which is situated in Metro Vancouver’s Crippen Park, BIHPA has been working to preserve the cottages, agricultural heritage and space of Davies Orchard for more than 30 years. In the past year BIHPA has received a Knick Knack Nook grant thanks to the Community Foundation and set about running a series of special events as well as keeping the annual traditions running, such as the beloved Applefest. 

Now there’s one last Farmers’ market for the season at BICS between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Oct. 12. There will be a fall abundance and, yes, more pies for Thanksgiving feasts.