A three-day food and drink festival that is less than an hour’s drive from Blackburn has unveiled a star-studded line up, and more than 1,000 activities for attendees.
The Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival, which runs from Friday, July 21, to Sunday 23, is the biggest festival of its kind in the UK.
Located at Funkirk Farm in Heslaker Lane, Skipton, North Yorkshire, the festival is just a 45 minute drive from Blackburn, half an hour from Burnley, and only 20 minutes from Colne.
With more than 300 workshops, demos and masterclasses from more than 50 celebrity and Michelin-starred chefs, including James Martin, Gino D’Acampo and the Hairy Bikers, there will be entertainment from dawn till dusk on the farm.
Add to this 300 stalls and hundreds of other activities for adults and children, there is something for everyone at the festival, which is priced at £23 for a day ticket or £50 for the full weekend, with children under seven going free, and camping available from £75.
Attractions include the Le Gruyere cheese tent, sipping drinks in the VIP lounge, donkey rides for the little ones, and artisan markets as far as the eye can see, along with tastings and demonstrations from some of the North’s most talented chefs on the AA Rosette Stage.
Away from the food there will be live music all day, a funfair and children’s farm to keep everyone entertained.
Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival founder, Rachael Higgins, said: “Our festival is like nothing you’ve ever experienced before, and this year will be bigger, better and even more fun.
“We’ve tailored a huge schedule of workshops and masterclasses alongside chef demos, tastings, music to dance to, shopping, a funfair, kids farm and even a giant sandpit!
“Come for the food, stay for the music and leave with memories to last a lifetime. A delicious adventure awaits you in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.”
Other foodie attractions at the Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival include:
- A free beer and food pairing workshop presented by Timothy Taylor’s expert beer sommelier Annabel Smith
- A make-up and Martini masterclass from Charlotte Tilbury
- Hooting Owl’s Yorkshire Gin Tour
- Yorkshire Explorer’s Blooming Botanicals gin tasting experience
- Shikshak Indian Cookery School lessons
- Homage2Fromage’s cheese adventure
- Dutch Barn Orchard Vodka tasting experiences (Yorkshire based apple vodka)
- Bloom & Crown festival flower crown workshop
- Belvoir mixology cocktail sessions
For the children, there is:
- A soccer hub
- Kanga Sports
- Chocolate making session with York Cocoa Works
- Children’s pizza making class
- A Dales Bushcraft workshop making wooden gifts
- Willsow Paint and Plant flowerpot painting and wildflower planting
Cooking demos will take place at the Gruyere Big Top Theatre Kitchen and the AA Rosette Chef stage. Chefs appearing at the festival include:
- James Martin
- Gino D’Acampo
- The Hairy Bikers
- Galton Blackiston (Morston Hall, Michelin-starred)
- Jonny Little (Tommy Banks’ Made, Olstead)
- Ruth Hansom Rigby (Swinton Park)
Workshops and masterclasses are a mix of free and paid, with none priced higher than £11, with paid-for sessions needing to be booked in advance.
For tickets, to book sessions, and for more information, visit yorkshiredalesfoodanddrinkfestival.com
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