Nigel Huddleston MP was on hand to press the first apple at a community day which saw hundreds visit Pershore College.
The MP for Mid Worcestershire was one of over 600 people to flock to Pershore College, which is part of college group WCG, for its inaugural community open day.
The event was held in the heart of apple pressing season and gave visitors the chance to see how Pershore Press, the college’s independent juice and cider production facility, mills and presses apples to make fresh juice.
Huddleston officially opened the event by operating the hand-operated press, squeezing gala apples into a sweet apple juice, before being given a tour around the college and sampling the wide range of fun and educational activities taking place.
Visitors followed a map throughout the day as a guide around the Pershore College site, including a visit to the college’s gardens and maze.
The community open day saw activities held for all of the family, with experts from the college also sharing expertise on subjects such as gardening, animal welfare and tree surgery.
A farmers’ market was held on the day, attracting 14 makers and small businesses from the surrounding area.
The Evesham Beekepers’ Association was also in attendance to raise awareness and educate visitors about bees and hornets using its observation hive.
At the same time the Animal Welfare Centre proved a huge hit with families as they had the chance to meet and feed the wide variety of animals which call the college home, including its star goats, pigs and donkeys.
Elsewhere at the college, AGCO paired up with the Land-based Engineering team to stage a display of farm machinery for visitors, whilst Pershore College’s arboriculture team carried out tree climbing demonstrations and gave advice on choosing a tree surgeon.
Pershore College plans to make the community open day an annual event to give people from Pershore and surrounding areas an insight into life at the college.
Nigel Huddleston MP said:
"I had a wonderful time at Pershore College's Community Day, and being able to press the first batch of apple juice made it even more enjoyable.
“The event was truly engaging, offering a diverse range of activities and showcasing what the college offers both students and the wider community.
“I'm deeply grateful to all the organisers for their dedication and hard work.”
Mark Whittaker, of WCG, added:
“Our inaugural community open day was a roaring success and we would like to thank Nigel Huddleston for coming along to officially open the event.
“We felt that pressing some freshly harvested apples was an apt way to get the day underway and Nigel quickly mastered the apple press, aided by our expert Richard Toft.
“This day was all about giving people who may never have had the chance to visit us at Pershore College the opportunity to do so, and I think to have attracted so many people for our first ever event proves there was an appetite to do so.
“Pershore College is at the heart of the community and we hope to be able to host more events like this in the future.”
To find out more about studying at Pershore College visit www.wcg.ac.uk/study. For more information about Pershore Press visit www.pershorepress.com
