A POPULAR festival will come of age in 2017 as the Pershore Plum Festival celebrates its 21st birthday.
Original conceived as the Pershore Flower Show, the event enjoyed its heyday in the roaring 20s as the ‘largest plum show on earth’.
Almost 100 years later this bustling riverside town is striving to recreate this spectacle.
Resurrected in 1996, the 21st anniversary also sees the 190th anniversary of the yellow egg plum which was found in Tyddesley Wood by George Crooke in 1827.
Since it was brought back to life, the festival has grown into a major event for Pershore, attracting tens of thousands of visitors from around the globe each year.
The market town becomes a sea of purple and yellow during the festival month of August in homage to the plums which make the town so famous; the Pershore Purple and the Pershore Yellow Egg Plum.
All the shop windows are themed to the colours, residents wear purple and not only can you buy every type of plum, you can find just about anything flavoured with plums, from sausages to soap.
The festivities kick off at the beginning of July with the search for the Plum Princess, followed by the Plum Race Night at Worcester racecourse.
Plum Coach Tours take place every week in August where passengers can enjoy the orchards as well as many of the restaurants and cafes that offer plum menus.
The Pershore Plum Festival’s 999 Bike Nite is another highlight when thousands of motorbikes representing all the emergency services descend on the town from all over the country.
The festival finale is held over the bank holiday at the end of August, with a food village which features stall holders who have agreed to sell something plummy.
There will be nearly 100 stalls and attractions selling plum-themed goodies, festival mementoes and offering people the chance to taste scores of plum varieties.
As well as festival mascots, Eggbert and his girlfriend Prunella Plum, entertainers and musicians will be on hand to keep the crowds amused across all three days and the organisers promise something for everyone.
Saturday, August 28 will see retail and heritage day while the following day is dedicated to a healthy family fun day before the climax on Bank Holiday Monday, August 28 with the Plum Fayre itself.
More than 1,000 classic cars will be on show in the grounds of Pershore Abbey while there will be a Plum Fun Zone with a fair, Banghra and Samba workshops, zorbs, storytelling plus lots of other family attractions.
Visit www.pershoreplumfestival.org.uk for all the latest information.
