Taste rare and delicious fruits at the UBC Apple Festival this fall

If you’re a fan of the Fuji, gaga over Royal Gala, or a lover of the Pink Lady, we have the perfect fall event you need to put into your calendar.

The 2023 UBC Apple Festival is happening at the UBC Botanical Garden on October 14 and 15, and there’s something for fruit connoisseurs of all ages to enjoy.

Entering its 32nd year, the huge apple celebration gives attendees a chance to learn about the diversity of apples as well as taste a number of rare and peculiar varieties. There will also be live entertainment, an apple and apple tree sale, and a food fair onsite.

UBC Botanical Garden/Facebook

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Visitors will be able to sample up to 40 varieties of new and heritage apples in the Tasting Tent for an additional fee, all grown within British Columbia.

The Friends of the Garden’s Apple Booklet will also be available for purchase at the event, which details the history, propagation needs, and features of over 100 types.

The festival will showcase family-friendly shows on the Great Lawn Main Stage and the West Entrance Small Stage. Young horticulturalists can also visit the children’s area to learn about biodiversity, the environment, bees and other pollinators, and more. Plus, take a leap in the giant leaf pile!

UBC Botanical Garden/Facebook

Vancouver Island-based BC Fruit Testers Association will be at the fest with its “Best Apple Display in Canada,” a massive display of the nearly 200 apple varieties that are still grown in BC.

Attendees can take in grafting and cider-pressing demos, try to stump the experts with apples from their own garden, and get tips from Master Gardeners.

All of the activities may make you hungry, so stop by UBC Apple Festival’s food fair for pizza, hot beverages, chocolate, popcorn, cookies, and, of course, apple pie!

UBC Botanical Garden/Facebook

Before you leave the UBC Botanical Garden, check out the extensive variety of apples and apple trees for purchase. Festival organizers share that conventional apple varieties, heritage, and “tried and true” varieties will be available, along with pears and quince.

Visitors are advised that there is no parking at the UBC Botanical Garden during the festival. UBC will be running a free shuttle bus from the West Campus Parkade and the Fraser River Parkade.

2023 UBC Apple Festival

When: October 14 and 15, 2023
Time: Various time slots from 11 am to 4 pm
Where: UBC Botanical Garden – 6804 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver
Tickets: $8 for early bird admission; purchase online. Early bird pricing is in effect until Monday, October 2. Children seven years and under can enter for free with a paying adult.