The fourth annual Weylands Wassail is set to take place on Sunday 8 February from 1.30pm to 3.30pm, in the community orchard at Weylands. From 1.30 onwards, a ‘village green’ event will offer family-friendly craft activities, making willow crowns and wassail sticks. Hot mulled cider and apple juice will ward off the cold. The wassail ceremony will start at 2.30pm, led by performers Annabelle Macfadyen and Simon Blakeman and everyone will be invited to join them in making noise to ‘wake the orchard’ and ‘toast the trees’ (full instructions provided). Frome Street Bandits will round off the day with a rousing musical performance until 3.30pm.
Entrance to the wassail is free, although donations to the community groups providing activities are very welcome. Refreshments are on sale throughout the event; cider and toast for the trees as part of the wassail ceremony are provided. Attendees are encouraged to bring pots, pans and spoons to bang during the wassail ceremony.
The word ‘wassail’ comes from Old English, meaning ‘be well’ and its purpose is to bring people together at the coldest, darkest point in the year. Wassailing in some form dates back to at least the twelfth century, with orchard wassails like the one at Weylands appearing in the historical record since the 1500s.
Annabelle Macfadyen said:
“The Wassail is a lovely midwinter community event where children and adults participate in an ancient tradition of wassailing the apple trees in the orchard. We need to wake the trees from their winter sleep by making a lot of noise with pots and pans and then make offerings of toast and cider to ensure a good harvest. Once the trees are blessed in this way, we celebrate them in song with a cup of mulled cider or apple juice in hand.”
Charly Le Marchant, who produces the Wood for the Trees film series and brought the wassail to Weylands with Annabelle Macfadyen, said “The tradition of the Wassail is to come out in midwinter, sometime after Christmas and bless the spirits of the fruit trees with music, cider and toast and encourage a fruitful harvest that year. But also it is an excuse to give everyone a chance to get out of their homes in the miserable depths of winter and remind us of the friends and the community around us.”
The tree planting at Weylands was designed and organised by Charly Le Marchant and Pavla of Hejgro and planted with help from FROGs and Shared Earth and FTC and community volunteers. The design incorporated a woodland edge of Elder, Hazel, Holly, Wild Cherry, Guelder Rose and Spindle alongside a nut and seed orchard contacting Walnuts, Mulberries, Cherry, Apples, Pear and Plum among others.
Mayor of Frome Anita Collier said “The wassail has become one of Frome’s favourite community events – despite the chilly time of year, the mood is far from it! Come and enjoy the ‘village green’ from 1.30 and then help ensure a bountiful harvest with the wassail ceremony! Many thanks to Charly, Annabelle, Simon and everyone who works so hard to make it such a fantastic day.”
The Weylands Wassail takes place in the green space behind Weylands/Whatcombe Road, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm on Sunday 8 February. Find the wassail location via What 3 words at https://w3w.co/drives.half.pose or Google Maps at https://maps.app.goo.gl/U6EmVVv3hxQZ5Lf47.
