As the Stone Food & Drink Festival marked its 10th birthday, there were probably plenty of visitors who could lay claim to having attended each and every event in its 10-year history. However, it’s unlikely that anyone has clocked up 8,000 miles in the course of travelling to the event over the past decade – like Aberdeen-based Graeme and Karen Slesser.
The couple make the annual 800-mile round trip to stay with friends Lynne and Sandy Daun, who live in Stone, ensuring their visit falls on the first weekend of October each year to coincide with what has become Staffordshire’s biggest gastronomic gathering. 2014 was no different, with the couple choosing to fly back into Manchester following their recent holiday to Italy, rather than heading straight back to Aberdeen, in order to be in town for the three-day festivities.
As to why they return for the festival every year, Graeme said: “There are a few reasons; the range of producers and the quality of the produce, we enjoy sampling the local beers as we listen to the live music each afternoon. Everyone is so friendly and the atmosphere of the festival is fantastic. We normally visit Stone about three times a year to visit our friends and the food festival is a permanent fixture in the calendar!”
And the Slessers are not alone in travelling to attend the event, as Festival Chairman Richard Stevens added: “We’ve always attracted exhibitors from far and wide but, since we started selling advance tickets online three years ago we’ve found ourselves posting tickets to visitors from all over the country. It really seems that Stone is being put on the ‘foodie’ map, which has always been one of our main goals. Graeme and Karen’s story is particularly lovely – not least because they travel so far and have come to each and every event since the festival started – and we hope to see them back in town for many more festivals yet!”
If you know of someone who’s travelled as many miles at Graeme and Karen over the years to visit the Stone Food & Drink Festival – or even more – then the committee would love to hear from you – please email info@stonefooddrink.org.uk. The 2015 Stone Food & Drink Festival will take place on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th October – for more details, visit www.stonefooddrink.org.uk
