THE Weylands Wassail is back for its third thrilling year and will take over the orchard behind Weylands for a celebration of music, tradition, and community spirit.

The event will feature live music from the Frome Street Bandits, fun craft activities, which will include willow bird feeders for the garden, and a selection of mulled cider and apple juice.

This will all feature alongside the traditional wassail ceremony on Saturday, February 8, from 1.30pm to 3.30pm,

The word ‘wassail’ comes from Old English, meaning ‘be well’ and its purpose is to bring cheer to the cold, dark part of the year through community and celebration. Once again, Annabelle Macfadyen will stage a wassail performance and lead the crowd through the ceremony, around trees decorated by local resident and TreeGroup member Charly Le Marchant.

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.”

FTC
Mulled cider and apple juice will be served alongside the traditional wassail ceremony, adding warmth and flavour to the midwinter celebration at Weylands. (FTC)

Entrance to the wassail is free, with refreshments on sale and the opportunity to make a donation to the community groups providing the activities.

Charly le Marchant said: “The traditional wassail was always to come out in midwinter and bless and encourage the spirits of the fruit trees to give us more apples the following harvest. But it is also an excuse to encourage everyone out of their homes in the miserable depths of winter, remind us that we do have friends and there is a community around us.”

Charly, of WoodfortheTrees, and Pavla, of Hejgro, designed and organised the tree planting under the TreeGroup with help of FROGs, Shared Earth with funds and support from Frome Town Council and Pumpkin Day in 2019 and 2020.

Bringing the wassail tradition to Weylands in 2022 “was the next step,” Charly said.

Cllr Philip Campagna, who took part in the wassail in February 2024 while he was mayor of Frome, said: “Please come down to join the wassail and brighten a grey February, here’s hoping it’s just grey and the weather behaves itself.”