Fruits of the toon
Freshly-squeezed apple juice was the order of the day at Blairgowrie Community Market on Saturday as locals took advantage of the opportunity to turn their surplus seasonal fruit into tasty juice.
The stall, which was organised by Kay Seal from the town’s Climate Cafe, boasted an apple press run by Andrew Lear, the Apple Tree Man, from Bankfoot.
Throughout the day, an estimated 400 litres of apple juice was pressed by volunteers from apples donated by locals, many of whom were delighted to take their juice home with them.
Thanking everyone for their support, Kay said: “A huge thank you to everyone who supported the apple pressing at the community market, to everyone who sent or brought apples from their trees, to all who had a go at pressing and sampling the juice and especially to Andrew Lear, Vivienne and Ana from the council’s waste awareness team, and Bob Whiteford for all his help on the day.
“We really appreciated the donations, which totalled £84.25 and which will be used for a future apple-related local project.”
There was a good turnout at this month’s market on the Wellmeadow, which was the last one of 2017 in Blairgowrie.
Organisers attracted a number of stallholders to the popular event, including The Wright Root, a market gardener from Rattray.
John Hepburn-Wright from the Wright Root said: “This was our second time at Blairgowrie Community Market. Last month’s was excellent, for the size of the place it was brilliant, and this month we have had lots of repeat customers - people are coming back to look for us which is great.
“It is a great market for us as we just live in Rattray and we think it is important to support the local market.”
The community market is organised by the Strathmore and the Glens Rural Partnership and aims to contribute to the economic regeneration of the area and provide an outlet for small local producers and those starting out.
Organisers say research shows that markets help bring life into towns, aiding regeneration, and encourage social interactions, particularly between rural and urban communities.
Volunteers from Blairgowrie and District Next Steps help put up the market stalls along with helpers from the community council and the SCYD events team.
Sue Cole from the Strathmore and the Glens Rural Partnership was pleased with the 2017 season.
She said: “The last market of the season was pretty busy and had a great atmosphere.
“We had visitors from as far away as Aberdeen and Edinburgh and even some from overseas.
“This year we have had a number of new stallholders to try to bring more variety to the market which I think has worked well, it is always great to try and support local shops, producers and craftworkers.
“We would like to thank the Blairgowrie and Rattray Marching Band who have played at every market this year, which has been lovely, as well as all the stall holders, volunteers and customers for their support.”