It's not just a quaint name. The Granny Smith apple was developed in Sydney, by a humble orchardist named Maria Ann Smith from Ryde – and wow, a street festival held each year in Eastwood celebrates good ol' Granny’s legacy.
The Granny Smith Festival is all about the chance and the luck of little acts. Smith would toss seeds from French crab apples out her window, which, combined with Ryde’s famously fertile soil at the time, resulted in one of the most recognisable mutations of apples in the world. To honour her memory, in October, Ryde transforms into a festival of all things green apple. While it's usually a one-day celebration, this year, events are taking place over the month of October.
“While many annual events have been cancelled this year, the City of Ryde felt it was vitally important to still stage a Granny Smith Festival that featured lots of fun entertainment while ensuring the safety of everyone in the community,” the mayor of Ryde, Jerome Laxale, said in a statement.
Catch some outdoor flicks at the drive-in cinema over two nights across the weekend of October 3 and 4 – bookings are essential. A new artist will take over the Eastwood plaza from October 8 for four weeks, allowing audiences who stroll past to see works in progress and completed pieces from unusual perspectives.
A whole raft of events will be taking place online, too – the Ryde Hunters Hill Symphony Orchestra will stream a live performance from the grounds of the Brush Farm House on Saturday, October 24, while Emma from The Wiggles will be taking over your kids' screens on Saturday, October 17. Check out the full line-up online.
In the meantime, check out the best things to do this September.
