Westbridge Park is once again due to be taken over by food & drink lovers from near & far, with the 2018 Stone Food & Drink Festival on the horizon.
The main event will take place over the weekend of 5, 6 & 7 October, but local businesses are gearing up for a whole week packed with foodie fun with an array of themed evenings, special offers and food & drink festivities – kicking off with Lymestone Brewery’s ever-popular Chilli-off on Friday 28th September.
Also returning this year with a slightly different format is the Tapas Trail, kindly sponsored by R.A.Knight & Co Accountants. Some eight eateries will take part – including The Crown of India; Beth Lauren Cake Parlour; Roo’s Bar; Little Seeds; Granvilles; The Crown and Anchor, The Wheatsheaf at Oulton and Moddershall Oaks – each serving a tapas-style dish for just £3.50pp. Diners can complete a voting card as soon as they’ve finished eating and pop it into the box at each venue to help decide the best tapas dish on the trail, with the chance to simultaneously enter themselves into a draw to win a meal for two at the victorious venue. Full details of opening times for each venue and the dishes on offer will be available on the festival website and at participating venues in the next couple of weeks.
There’s good news to ale lovers too, with a strong contingent of the town’s real ale pubs have signing up to have a Staffordshire brewed guest ale on tap during festival week to celebrate the county’s brewing heritage – look out for window posters and beer mats in participating pubs!
Stone’s own foodie history will be marked with a Guided Foodie History Tour of the town on Wednesday 3rd October. Meeting in the Market Square at 6.45pm prompt for a 7pm start spaces (£2pp/£1 under-16s) will be allocated on a first come, first served basis before Steve Booth and 
Philip Leason of Stone Historical Society wax lyrical about the town’s links to Hovis flour; Gooseberry fairs, fish ponds, breweries – and much more besides. All proceeds to Stone Historical Society.
To compliment these festival week stalwarts, there is a hugely diverse programme of events being run courtesy of the town’s great local food & drink businesses, including festival week offers at independent shops to food & drink quizzes, special menus, themed evenings and tastings of everything from beer to gin – and pretty much everything in between.
And of course, Stone’s monthly farmers market will be held on Saturday 6th october, making sure the fun, and food, extends to the High Street.
Festival Chairman, Richard Stevens, says: “We’ve once again been humbled by the response to our call to action from Stone’s local businesses. It’s fantastic to see so many keen to get involved with the event and show their support, and it all helps create a very special vibe in town during festival week. We hope that lots of you come into town not only for the ‘big weekend’ but to support these great local restaurants, bars, pubs and shops throughout the week – Stone has so much to be proud of!”
The full programme of events happening during festival week can be found on the Stone Food & Drink Festival website – www.stonefooddrink.org.uk – alternatively, you can pick up a printed programme at numerous food and drink venues throughout town.
