It’s apple harvest season, and The Blue Mountains Public Library is premiering a new documentary on Friday, Oct. 8 as part of the annual Apple Harvest Festival.
Filmed in partnership with Mountain Goat Film Company, Apple Harvest follows the life of an apple from its beginnings to its harvest.
Andrea Wilson, curator at the Craigleith Heritage Depot, said the documentary tries to capture the people and the work behind the region’s annual apple harvest.
“There's a lot of work behind it – a lot of work to get it to your plate, either as an apple or a cider or a pie, and we tried to capture that,” she said.
The event, which begins at 7 p.m., will be presented virtually through the library website. Wilson and local apple farmer John Ardiel will introduce the 24 minute documentary alongside the film’s production team, Tom and Tracey Strnad.
Following the premiere will be a public question-and-answer session..
Filming for the documentary began in early 2021 and ran through to the end of September, which presented a bit of a time-crunch for its Oct. 8 release.
Wilson said that capturing the entire process, from winter right through to the fall, was one of the documentary’s objectives.
“In the wintertime or in the early spring, you're not thinking of the apple harvest. But our farmers sure are and you kind of follow that whole path to finally getting it to your plate,” she said.
“You kind of see the trials and tribulations, but the joy and the innovation and the dynamic people behind that process.”
A part of the library’s award-winning REEL History film series, Apple Harvest was created with assistance from The Town of the Blue Mountains.
“The Town of The Blue Mountains funded this film, and they really wanted to,” Wilson said. “They had seen our films before and they really wanted something that was of that quality, but also something we could put into our REEL History film series so they didn't want to do it separate from us.”
Those interested in attending the virtual event may register here.
