St Sidwell’s Community Centre and Wren Music are co-hosting an evening wassail with music, singing and hot soup on Friday 16 January.
Orchard wassailing has been practised in cider-producing counties, including Devon, for many centuries. The first recorded mention is from 1585 in Kent.
The winter ceremony is believed to promote a good apple crop the following spring. The tradition has also been revived locally in Stoke Gabriel and Sandford.
Wren Music is a charity based in Okehampton. Founded in 1983 it runs events, workshops and concerts enabling communities to participate in folk and traditional music.
St Sidwell’s Community Centre, which opened in 2001, is an independent, secular charity which offers a range of activities, events and services for the local community.
It runs a community café, a bakery and free English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes.
The centre also manages a large community garden, where events are held and organic fruit and vegetables are grown for use in the café, offers meeting rooms for hire to local groups and acts as a local heritage hub for Exeter city centre’s eastern quarter.
There are volunteering and work experience opportunities across all areas of the centre’s work.
Sidwell Street wassail gathers from 5.30pm on Friday 16 January 2026 at St Sidwell’s Community Centre.
There will a chance to learn wassailing songs from 5.30pm in the centre cafe before the wassail itself at 6pm in the community garden. There will then be more music until 8.30pm.
The event is free to attend with hot soup and bread available for £6.
For more information and to book visit the St Sidwell’s Community Centre website.
