Whittington will be celebrating the planting of its new community orchard in style with a traditional wassail event and evening of entertainment.
The event will take place on February 16 with the wassailing led by the Ecocentrics, a band who have just seen lead singer Emily Portman with the BBC2 award for best new folk song.
The fun is being organised by the Whittington and Fisherwick Environment Group (WFEG) who have led the planting of the orchard.
Participants in the wassail will sing songs and pour cider round the roots of the trees as part of an ancient ritual which is believed to go back to Celtic times and is designed to drive out evil spirits while encouraging good ones to produce a strong crop for the coming year.
A spokesperson said: “Visitors may also wish to bring saucepans and wooden spoons to beat them with to help scare away evil spirits!”
Thomas Spencer Church Hall will host the Ecocentrics following the ceremony, where they will perform their acclaimed Fruits of Paradise show, tracing the history of the apple, in song and music from its origins in the mountains of Kazakhstan to the orchards of England. Children from Whittington School have composed the songs for the wassail after a workshop run by the band.
Whittington’s vicar, Reverend Fiona Hackett, will also take part and lead a blessing of the trees.
Dave Murcot, orchard project manager from WFEG, added: “We have had great support from the community for the orchard project and we hope they will join us in celebrating in style.
“Everyone is welcome to come along to both the wassail and the Fruits of Paradise show. We are thrilled to have such a wonderful band as the Ecocentrics to lead our celebrations.”
The wassail and show are free, with locally-produced apple juice and cider available to buy.
The ceremony starts at 4pm at the Community Orchard in Jubilee Park with the Fruits of Paradise performance at 5pm. For further information email mike@wfeg.org.uk or call 01543 432238.
