Despite the weather threatening, thousands of people flocked into Stone over the past weekend to fill the High Street and Westbridge Park for the Stone Food and Drink Festival.
The Stone Food and Drink Festival main event happens the first weekend of October each year, and there were quite a few changes for 2019.
With the new Stone Leisure Centre up and running the festival was once again able to spread out over the majority of the Westbridge Park site. The site is split up into various sections with the main tent running down the side of the site, alongside the Stone and Stafford Canoe club. Housed within the main tent is a myriad of food & drink related stalls. From coffee to fudge, salami to cheese there was something for everyone and samples aplenty! One of the key things for us is trying new things, and if you don’t make the ticket price back in free samples then you’re simply doing it wrong! All of the traders were happy to give out tasters of all of their food and drinks!
Although there are traders from out of town, there were still a lot of local support within this year’s festival. From canal cruising (unbelievably some people still don’t know that we have a boatyard almost on the High Street), Emma Joustra and Yum Yums. There were also a number of local foody celebrities giving talks and demonstrations too! Who knew that the best way to cook a turkey was upside down? I didn’t….but Nick Griffin’s talk about how to cook the perfect Christmas bird was very well received.
In terms of value for money with kids, you really couldn’t go wrong. Kids can enter the festival for free with an adult, and there are many free and low-cost activities. Our children took part in the four free kids cookery sessions over the Saturday and Sunday, making pizzas, biscuits, scones and noodles! That meant they had their dinner sorted for both the Saturday and Sunday nights!. Our kids love Professor Panic and his circus, a cornerstone of the festival for us. They learned how to juggle scarves, spin plates and almost split their sides laughing at the Punch and Judy show! To complement the free activities, there was some craft sessions, a small pirate ship, crazy golf, face painting and an inflatable slide.
Around the site were around 20 stalls selling a selection of savoury and sweet food, and the festival site was well stocked with places to grab a drink. From coffee, beer, fizz, cider and The Borehole Gin Bar, there was plenty to sample, try and enjoy!
New for 2019 were three giant “octopus” tents which gave shelter from the odd shower that blew through, whether the weather is sunny or wet these will be a great addition for future festivals!
Finally, it would be remiss if we didn’t mention the musical element rounds off the festival experience. The festival-goers appreciated the bands who took to the stage and provided the soundtrack for three memorable days.
Well done to the team who put on the festival as well as the vast number of volunteers who help ensure that the festival is set up, ran and taken down, it’s a credit to Stone and brings in thousands of pounds worth of trade into the town each year.
2019 in photos:
