Calling all apple lovers—UBC’s annual Apple Festival is right around the corner.
As the festival enters its 34th year, it has become a popular autumn attraction for campus residents and beyond.
The festival will take place from October 18-19, between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the UBC Botanical Garden. Organized by Friends of the Garden, a volunteer group, the festival is the UBC Botanical Garden’s biggest fundraising event.
The festival features all sorts of activities for people of all ages, including local food vendors, a children’s area, live entertainment, and cooking demonstrations. In 2024, the festival began showing attendees how to cook various apple-themed recipes. Luckily for attendees this year, the popular demonstrations will be returning.
For many, the star of the festival is undeniably the Tasting Tent, a place for festival-goers to sample different kinds of apples to their heart’s content. In the past, there have been 60-70 different varieties of apples to try.
If you’re looking to take some apples home after the festival, there will be plenty to choose from. The festival organizers generally bring in 33,000 pounds of apples for people to buy from the stands in the parking area.
Despite the enormous quantity for sale, they’ve been known to sell out fast in recent years, as the festival’s popularity has grown substantially. To ensure you secure all the apples you would like, get there early.
Tickets are $11 for people between the ages of 8 and 64 online, and $12 at the festival gates. Tickets provide access to the apple sale, food trucks, and the garden area with activities.
Entrance to the Tasting Tent is not included in general admission—it’s an extra $10 and can be purchased online or at the venue. If the Tasting Tent admission is sold out, the organizers recommend checking again on the day of the festival, as new tickets may go on sale.
Advance purchase tickets are available on the Botanical Garden’s website at botanicalgarden.ubc.ca.
If you’re looking for a way to celebrate the arrival of autumn, enjoy some delicious fruit, and partake in a beloved UBC tradition, join your fellow campus residents at the 34th annual Apple Festival.
AMIE BERNAERDT IS A FOURTH YEAR STUDENT AT UBC, MAJORING IN CREATIVE WRITING AND ANTHROPOLOGY.