Pershore Plum Festival preparations are well underway with the first event of the year fast approaching.

The celebration of the locally produced fruit begins in just a few weeks’ time, when the Plum Princess will be crowned.

Applications are open now, but you will need to act quickly to be in with a chance, as the closing date is this Sunday, June 12.

A ceremony will then take place on Plum Blossom Sunday, July 3, at The Angel Hotel where the Princess and her attendants will be chosen.

Evesham Journal: The Plum Festival mascots will be in attendance at the Princess coronation on July 3The Plum Festival mascots will be in attendance at the Princess coronation on July 3

The Plum Fayre was resurrected in 1996 by local environmentalist, David Shaw and local historian, Marion Freeman, to help promote Pershore and its association with plums.

The area has been synonymous with the fruit since medieval times and at the Pershore Flower Show in 1920, posters went up advertising it as “the largest plum show on Earth.”

Over 100 years later and Pershore can still stake a claim for this title, with the town turning purple throughout August culminating in the Plum Fayre on the August Bank Holiday Monday.

Plum Blossom Sunday marks the start of this year’s festival and will see a range of live entertainment, children’s activities, and merchandise on offer from 12pm.

Guests will also have the chance to meet the Festival mascots, Prunella and Eggbert.

Girls, aged between eight and 11, can compete for the crown, by applying either online or by collecting a form from Pershore Civic Centre, The Angel Hotel or The Gallery.

The successful applicants will get to represent Pershore and its plums for the entire year at various Festival events, including the race meeting at Worcester Racecourse, the Bike Nite, and the Fayre on August Bank Holiday Monday.