Organised by the Friends Of Stoke Gabriel School, the Annual Wassail has become a very popular event, and serves to raise funds to enrich the lives of local children. The word wassail comes from the Anglo Saxon greeting "Waes Hail" meaning "Good Health". Old twelfth night is when the oldest or best apple tree in an orchard was chosen to be wassailed, or toasted, in order to ensure a good crop. Stoke Gabriel Wassail Queen Lucy Kies and King Freddie Gillmore, will pour cider over the roots of the trees before climbing up in to them, where they will hang cider soaked bread to feed the Robins, the spirits of the trees. Everyone then gathers around the trees to sing a traditional song, culminating in a dramatic finale where shotguns are fired in the trees to wake them from their winter slumber and to ward off evil spirits that may be lurking in the branches. The event includes folk dancing, poems, traditional Mummers Plays, storytelling, and music. Local, home made food and drinks are also on sale throughout the whole evening, and plenty of South Devon Cider.

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