Feastival Does The Business
IMG_1168, originally uploaded by The Alternative Food Festival.
Following last year’s success, Bridgend’s newest flagship event Feastival, Wales’ Alternative Food Festival, has started to attract substantial attention and interest from the Welsh media and business community. It attracted over 35,000 people to the town centre in 2010 in what was its first year of operation. This year, it takes place on 30th September and 1st October, and is promising to be even bigger and better.
The event has attracted 55 Welsh food & drink companies who will be exhibiting in the town centre and a further 10 quality craft and non-food related businesses who have been carefully selected to participate. Exhibitors will be showcasing the best that Welsh food and drink has to offer including meat, dairy, bakery products, preserves, eggs, fruit & vegetables plus a range of wines, beers, ciders and perrys.
“We’re delighted the way that Feastival is developing and the interest that we’ve received from the local business community” said Councillor David Sage, Deputy Leader of Bridgend County Borough Council “The event deliberately pitches itself as being different to any other food festival in Wales which is probably why it is becoming such a hit with residents, visitors and businesses”
Feastival has attracted support from a number of local businesses including Bridgend success story Just Perfect Catering, The Welsh Perry & Cider Society, Fiat, and Filco, who are launching a new town centre store in Bridgend early in 2012. The event is also hosting a Town Centre Regeneration Reception on Friday 30th September showcasing the town to a number of select and interested investors who will see at first hand that Bridgend is dynamic, forward thinking with a new interesting focus on events such as Feastival to draw people in to the town centre. The event’s Italian Quarter which is a new attraction this year, has also presented a great opportunity for local businesses to benefit. The town’s three quality Italian Restaurants, Zia Nina’s, Il Panino and La Strada are all using the opportunity to promote their businesses to anew audience.
Feastival’s main attraction this year is the Welsh food artist and Britain’s Got Talent star Nathan Wyburn, famed for his ,Marmite on Toast’ portraits. Alongside Nathan, the event this year will feature allotment expert Terry Walton from BBC Radio 2, and several unusual food related attractions such as the Egg Drop Championship, a ‘Leek Lobbing’ competition, Chefs on Stilts and all the other trimmings that you expect at a food festival.
For further details visit http://www.walesalternativefoodfestival.com
Feastival turns Bridgend into Little Italy
Italian flag #1, originally uploaded by Ed Yourdon.
As part of this year’s Wales Alternative Food Festival on 30th September and 1st October 2011, we’re turning a part of Bridgend into ‘Little Italy’. The Italian Quarter at Feastival is a celebration of the historic and cultural links between Wales and Italy and how Italy has helped shape our food culture in the Principality.
There aren’t many places in Wales that you can go to without coming across a quality Italian restaurant, an ice cream parlour even and of course, their famous cafes dotted throughout the valleys. The idea is to create an Italian Quarter during the food festival to showcase some Italian icons and true to form with Feastival, this will be a little bit different too.
It’s rumoured for example (only rumoured!) that Wales Alternative Food Festival will get its very own Leaning Tower of Pissa this year (but with a twist). Watch this space!
In the meantime, if anyone wants to get involved in Little Italy or indeed has any ideas for us, be great to hear from you (email: tourism@bridgend.gov.uk)
