Bank holiday weekend events to bring Pershore's month-long plum celebrations to a close
The Pershore Plum Festival finishes this bank holiday weekend, with various events honouring the fruit happening throughout August
Month-long celebrations in a Worcestershire town to a particular fruit are to conclude over this bank holiday weekend.
The Pershore Plum Festival is held annually to honour the area's historical links, which has seen three different varieties of plum named after them over time.
In 1827, the Pershore yellow egg plum was found to be growing in Tiddesley Wood before the Pershore purple was then created fifty years later, with the Pershore emblem being developed in more recent times.
"About 100 years ago Pershore used to have a flower show and it was always dubbed as the greatest plum show on earth," festival co-chair Angela Taylor said.
"Basically, the town has been celebrating its plums probably for about 200 years, because next year is the 200th anniversary of the Pershore yellow egg plum.
"It's got a lot of history associated with it, and Pershore is the only place in the country other than Denbigh in Wales to have plums named after the town."
Events have been taking place throughout August as part of the celebrations, which included a bike night on Thursday.
The festival's official launch day is today (29 August), with the Big Plum weekend running across tomorrow and Monday.
Taylor said it is really important for them to continue to commemorate the town's links to the fruit and make sure they keep going.
"We just want to celebrate," she said.
"The Vale of Evesham is synonymous with horticulture and has been for many decades and centuries.
"So it's just a fun way, I know other places grow plums, but I don't think there's anywhere that celebrates them like we do."
The festival concludes with its fayre day on bank holiday Monday (31 August).