Apple Festival Thank You (2003)

This past weekend's Apple Festival was the most successful UBC Botanical Garden event to date, with just shy of 13 000 visitors to the garden participating in the festivities. Almost everything was sold out by the end of the festival, which could not have been predicted on Thursday or Friday, considering the heavy rainfall.

On behalf of the researchers and staff at UBC Botanical Garden, I'd like to express our gratitude.

Thanks to everyone who attended and made the event such a success. All of the funds generated from the sale support research and educational activities at the garden.

The event would not happen without the hard work of the UBC Friends of the Garden. In a word, their dedication is phenomenal. The public generally does not see the "behind the scenes" required to organize the event, but please imagine the tenacity and loyalty needed to unload and bag 28 000 pounds of apples and set up tents, tables and so on, all during the "rainfall of the century" on Thursday and Friday. Amazing.

Thanks also to the other volunteers who took the time out of their weekend to lend a hand, including university and high school students, spouses of FOGs and other folk with an interest in seeing the garden succeed.

Publicizing the event is also critical to its success, so a warm thank you to the media and people who spread news of the event by word of mouth or by distributing posters.

Lastly, a word on the traffic chaos. UBC Parking and UBC Campus and Community Planning have made a commitment to ensure that adequate and clear signage and more staff will be available next year. We at the garden hope that any negative experiences caused by the traffic frustration were far outweighed by a friendly and rewarding time at the festival.

As a university botanical garden, we recognize the unique role we have in being a very public face of the university and the accompanying responsibility we have to parlay the university's mission to the broader community. Events such as the Apple Festival allow the garden to build community, promote learning and, through funds raised, support research and more education. We thank all who attended or worked for the event in sharing our dedication to knowledge and community.

Posted by Daniel Mosquin at 5:29 AM on October 23, 2003