Apples are a staple in the Okanagan and on Saturday, the delicious fruit was the focus of an annual celebration.
Hundreds of people took in the 23rd annual apple fair at the Laurel Packinghouse in Kelowna.
This year, the fair offered 30 varieties of apples for the public to try.
The popular event is organized by the Kelowna Museum Society.
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Organizers say it is important to come out and celebrate one of the Okanagan’s most valuable and cherished industries.
“When you live in Kelowna, the Okanagan, we have such a rich agricultural history,” said organizer Jasmine Marshall. “You have to celebrate it. It’s harvest time, you have to celebrate.”
Also on hand at the apple fair was Vic MacDonald, a beekeeper who spent the day informing people about the vital role that bees play in apple orchards.
“Bees are fantastically important because the pollination gives you the perfect apple,” MacDonald said. “Check on the inside of your apple. If it has 10 seeds, you can count you have the perfect apple. Bees come to an apple, pollinate it and it gives you the perfect apple.”
Organizers say they usually get about 1,000 people coming to the fair every year, a turnout that requires at least 1,200 pounds of apples.
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