Huddersfield Food and Drink Festival takes place on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday August 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th … and here’s everything you need to know about it.
The ever-popular festival will be held in Greenhead Park due to ongoing work at the George Hotel and is expected to attract thousands.
The festival starts on Thursday and runs through to Sunday. It’s organised by Huddersfield Live, a not-for-profit company that organises, develops and supports events throughout the Huddersfield area.
The festival will feature dozens of food and drink businesses that have been at the festival before and there will also be some new ones this year. These include Mexi Bean Express, Liv’s Cakes & Bakes, The Dutch Fishman, Wing Kings, GKMS Bakery Treats, Bar 10, Pan Yum from Honley, Lost Property, Halloumination, Super Bao, Cold Coffee Brew, Out in a Crowd, Yorkshire Spirits featuring Castle Hill Gin and Happy Boba.
The festival’s opening hours are Thursday, August 3, 11am-8.30pm; Friday, August 4 and Saturday, August 5, 10am to 8.30pm; Sunday, August 6, 10am-6pm. The festival still needs volunteers and to put yourself forward please go to https://bit.ly/44btvDS
Organiser Sam Watt, who also owns the Star Inn at Folly Hall, said: “This year’s festival is closing a little earlier because we want to encourage people to move back into Huddersfield town centre to visit the restaurants, pubs, clubs and other entertainment there.”
Music is a massive part of the festival and the full line-up and the times each is playing is below.
Other entertainment includes West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service activities and Angel Falconry on all four days with the RSPCA dog show on Saturday and Sunday.
Environmental group Fair and Funky will be there on Thursday while Friday will feature Bumblebee & Hulkbuster Transformers.
People who visit the festival can upgrade to become VIPs which costs just £10 a day or £25 for the four days. This pass means people can mix with the festival’s stars in the VIP tent where there is a discounted bar and VIP toilets.
Simply pop over to the VIP tent to buy a wristband or to order them in advance email info@huddersfieldlive.co.uk
To save the environment people are urged to buy a £1 stack cup or flute at the festival which they can then use again and again and can swap for clean ones. If you already have one from a previous event then simply bring it along.
Organisers have grabbed the chance to use the park’s vast space to expand this year’s festival beyond food and drink by introducing two new zones called Community Corner and Welcoming Wellbeing.
This gives community groups and wellbeing businesses the chance to showcase what they do. Community Corner will capture Huddersfield’s brilliant community spirit and among those charities and community groups featured will be Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice, Holme Valley Mountain Rescue, Shared Goods charity, Sangam Festival, TSL Kirklees, RSPCA and Environmental Projects in Kirklees (EPIKS).
The Welcoming Wellbeing zone is a relaxing area nestled in the trees that welcomes anything and everything which helps with people’s sense of wellbeing. Groups that have already booked include creative arts organisation Hoot, mental health group S2R and Guts UK, a charity set up to fight all kinds of digestive diseases.
Huddersfield Food & Drink Festival 2019. Image by: Photo by: Dave Calverley, PhotoLens
There will also be a Chill Zone at the bandstand by the lake where festivalgoers can relax and enjoy some local entertainment from storytelling to acoustic music, dance lessons and choirs.
An Artisan Zone, sponsored by Stafflex and Kirklees College, will showcase small, local artisan businesses from sweets and preserves to dog treats and clothing – all part of Huddersfield Live’s passion to support small local businesses and raise their profile.
A new children’s book will be launched at the festival on Saturday at 2pm telling the story of a young Sikh boy’s eventful childhood after being caught up in the partition of India to his epic travel to Huddersfield as a young man.
The book is called The Boy Who Lost His Home But Carried Light and is by Huddersfield author and illustrator Mandeep Kaur Samra. Aimed at children aged six to eight, it’s based on the true story of her father’s experience of growing up in India then embarking on the long journey to the north of England. It explores themes of loss, displacement, hope and arrival.
Here’s the full music line-up day by day.
Thursday
Main stage – 12noon pop, rock and folk from Altruistica; 1pm singer-songwriter Eoin Kelly, 2pm singer songwriter Amelia, 2.45pm rock, pop and folk songsmith Steve Fletcher; 4pm rockers Stone Vein, 6pm indie classics from Jim Stringer, 7.30pm Covers duo Little and Often who honed their craft at West End shows in London.
Bandstand – 2pm Altruistica, 5pm Steve Fletcher.
Friday
Main stage – 11.30am acoustic covers singer and guitarist John Walliss, 12.30pm rapper Scott Binns, 1pm acoustic rock singer Wilson, 2pm soul singer Lola Soul, 2.45pm indie blues band Strange and Charm, 4.45pm rock, pop and indie covers band The Hades; 6pm powerhouse band The Boxteles, 7pm blues rockers The Pat Fulgoni Blues Experience.
Bandstand: 3pm: Wilson
Saturday
Main stage – 10.30am Starlighter Academy, 11am teenage acoustic singer songwriter Doogle, 12 noon – Dance Fusion by SS Dance & Wellbeing, 12.45pm street dance group Dolly Mixtures, 1pm singer, songwriter and harmonic player Jimbo Lynch; 2pm Huddersfield singer songwriter James Leslie, 3pm 60s and 70s rock covers band Dodging Bullets, 4pm rock classics from Silesia, 5pm soul and funk collective Kevlar Boombox, 6pm covers band Jukebox, 7pm rock, pop and indie covers from Highway 62.
Bandstand – 11am Huddersfield Rock Choir, 12.30pm singer and guitarist Joel Horsfall, 2pm acoustic singer songwriter Doogle, 2.45pm Eileen and Ashley, 3.45pm Kay & Chas from blues rockers Strange and Charm, 5pm Josh Montali.
Sunday
Main stage – 11am rock and indie covers from Suspectum, 11.30am catchy folk pop from Fishing For Compliments, 12.45pm modern jive dance club VibeJibe, 1.30pm acoustic roots from Good Earth Collective, 2.30pm teenage singer and guitarist Mason Whittle, 3.30pm rock and pop covers band 6 Months In Mexico, 4.30pm legendary Huddersfield rockers Storm.
Bandstand – 11am interactive performance for children called by Pyjama Drama, 12.15pm Sangam Festival and Annapurna Indian dance, 1pm covers duo Jim of Jim Dam, 2.15pm acoustic singer So N’ So, 3.15pm VibeJive.
The main festival sponsors are Paxman, Stafflex, Kirklees College, Syngenta, Huddersfield Hub and Vodafone Broadband.
Huddersfield Food and Drink Festival 2023 has teamed up with Eat Out Round About, an award-winning app on a mission to support the long term sustainability of the UK hospitality sector. Cafes, bars and restaurants as well as local food and drinks producers can join for free for promotion across the Yorkshire region. For more information go to https://eatoutroundabout.co.uk/huddersfield-food-drink-festival/
Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.
