Apple Harvest Festival: A Celebration Worth Keeping!

The Editor: 

My heart is full of gratitude for the many, many people who made this year's Apple Harvest Festival such a wonderful celebration of our little community.

To the more than 40 volunteers who gave so generously of their time, energy, talents and good spirits, thank you! To those who hauled equipment, washed and chopped apples, helped their neighbors press fresh juice, baked and donated delicious goodies, organized and hosted Bingo games, solicited raffle prizes, sold tickets, poured drinks, set up tables, cleaned up afterward, and attended to the hundreds of little details that make an event like this possible, you were magnificent!

To everyone who came out to participate, whether to press a few gallons of apple juice, buy a pie, play Bingo, take a chance on a raffle prize, or simply enjoy an afternoon or evening in the company of friends and neighbors, thank you for showing up and making it all worthwhile.

A huge shout-out to The Point Band, whose generosity, talent and infectious energy gave us another fabulous evening of music and dancing! What a gift these musicians are to our community. There is something quite wonderful about watching a roomful of people, young and old, laughing, dancing, singing along and simply enjoying being together. 

And now, after several years of organizing the Apple Harvest Festival, it is time for me to pass the baton.

I would dearly love to see this festival continue, but with new leadership, fresh ideas and a broader sharing of the responsibilities that come with making it happen. The Apple Harvest Festival was never meant to be my festival. It belongs to Point Roberts.

I believe it is worth keeping.

We live in a rather extraordinary little place, geographically isolated, with a small population and relatively few opportunities to gather as a whole community. Events like the Apple Harvest Festival give us something that is increasingly rare in today's world: an opportunity to put aside our differences, get to know our neighbors, renew old friendships, make new ones and experience the simple pleasure of belonging.

For our children, these are the experiences that become cherished memories of growing up in Point Roberts. For parents and grandparents, they offer an opportunity to share traditions, introduce another generation to the pleasures of making something with their own hands, and enjoy time together that doesn't involve a television or a computer screen.

For our seniors, particularly those who live alone, such gatherings can provide a welcome antidote to isolation. And for our newest residents, what better introduction to the spirit of Point Roberts than a community coming together to celebrate the harvest, enjoy some music, share a meal, and have a little fun?

There is an important civic benefit as well. Every successful community celebration strengthens the relationships, trust and willingness to cooperate upon which a healthy, resilient community depends. The festival also brings people into our local businesses, encourages volunteerism, provides opportunities for our musicians, artists and bakers, and raises funds to support services that benefit our neighbors.

The Apple Harvest Festival has also been an important fundraiser for Circle of Care, helping support its work in our community. But its value goes well beyond the dollars raised. It reminds us of what we are capable of accomplishing when we work together, each contributing whatever time, talent or resources we have to offer.

Of course, none of this happens by magic! It takes planning, organization, volunteers, and people willing to assume responsibility for the various activities. But it needn't fall on the shoulders of one person, or even one organization. Imagine what might be possible if our community groups, businesses, families and individual residents each took responsibility for a piece of the festival, sharing both the work and the pleasure of creating it.

I would be delighted to share the procedures, contacts, equipment lists and lessons learned over the years with those willing to take it forward. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, although there is certainly plenty of room to make it bigger, better, or simply different!

My hope is that a few enthusiastic people will step forward, gather around a table, and begin imagining what the Apple Harvest Festival might become under their stewardship.

I have loved helping to create these celebrations, and I will always treasure the friendships, laughter, generosity and sense of community they have inspired. But the time has come for others to carry the tradition forward. A community is not simply a place where we live. It is something we create together.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if, years from now, our children and grandchildren were still gathering each autumn to press apples, eat pie, dance to local music, and celebrate the extraordinary little place we call home?

Anyone interested in helping carry the Apple Harvest Festival forward is invited to contact prcircleofcare@gmail.com.

Annelle Norman

Point Roberts