Latvia’s juiciest festival, the “Apple Festival 2022”, will welcome visitors to Dobele on 1st October. Local home producers and gardeners will gather to offer visitors the very best of nature’s bounty.
As the Dobele Apple Festival is not only a special event for the people of Dobele and the surrounding area, but also an important moment for the horticultural sector, it will honour professionals in the field. The Institute of Horticulture’s genetic resources collection in Latvia contains over 1,000 apple varieties. The goal of apple breeding is to obtain varieties with high fruit quality, good and regular yields, easily managed crowns, and resistance to harmful organisms and adverse weather conditions.
Purposeful apple breeding through controlled cross-pollination in Latvia only began in the 1950s, carried out by Roberts Āboliņš, Aleksandrs Maizītis and later by Rūdolfs Dumbravs at “Iedzēni” in the Madona district. The most significant varieties are: “Atvasara” – beautiful, tasty fruit with low susceptibility to disease; “Iedzēnu” – a good, hardy winter apple variety. Since 1994, apple breeding has been carried out at the Institute of Horticulture in Dobele. Among the new varieties, the most in-demand are “Dace” – easy to grow, high-quality fruit, scab-resistant; and “Gita” – very productive, scab-resistant (breeders Rūdolfs Dumbravs, Laila Ikase). Popular in small gardens are the columnar apple trees created in Latvia: “Baiba”, “Zane” and “Uldis” (breeders Rūdolfs Dumbravs, Laila Ikase), as well as “Inese” (breeders Rūdolfs Dumbravs, Inese Drudze).
The apple exhibition will certainly be of particular interest, as will the opportunity to view a wide variety of apple cultivars in the orchard, with special emphasis on those varieties created in Latvia. On the day of the festival, scientists from the Institute of Horticulture will be available in the orchard gazebo to reveal the secrets of apple growing and the nuances of flavour profiles, helping you find the perfect apple variety to plant in your own home garden.
During the Apple Festival, you can meet the recipients of this year’s Dobele Municipality grants at a special stand in the home producers’ and craftsmen’s market at the Institute of Horticulture – “Bergi Food” from Vecauce Parish and Rūtenberga lauku labumi from Penkule Parish, who will offer specially prepared meals. Mārcis Klatenbergs of “Bergi.Food” will be offering burgers made in their food truck with a special apple barbecue sauce, dessert, and hot apple drink. Meanwhile, Dainis Rūtenbergs from Rūtenberga lauku labumi will invite visitors to enjoy pumpkin and apple cream soup, roasted potatoes with pork in apple puree, and a warm drink.
That is by no means all – as part of Apple Day, both young and old will have the chance to take part in the Apple Day orienteering game as a family or individually, thereby learning about more than 1,000 different apple varieties and hybrids.
This festival is particularly suitable for all gourmets, as countless apple-based delicacies will be available to taste at the garden market and outdoor café. The living statue musical quartet will provide a cosy autumnal atmosphere, while the musical group “Ziņģes brāļi” from Bauska will provide the musical backdrop. Don’t forget that the little ones will also find exciting activities in the sensory workshop, and beautiful moments can be captured in the special festival photo booth. Tastings, exhibitions, a market, and active sports – all in one place at the most flavour-rich and juiciest festival in Latvia – the Dobele Apple Festival!
The festival is created by the Institute of Horticulture in cooperation with Dobele Municipality.