Bristol Food Connections festival kicks off with a bumper weekend of Bank Holiday events in the city centre from Friday, April 29th to Monday, May 2nd.
Thousands of visitors will descend on the city centre for a line-up of both free and ticketed events, taking place on College Green, Millennium and Anchor Square and all over the city. From talks, tastings and trails to free cooking demos and discussions, plus markets and musical performances in the evening, there’s plenty going on.
Supported by Great Western Railway, the BBC and Bristol City Council, Bristol Food Connections aims to connect people to all aspects of their food, including how and where it was grown, who served it, how it tastes, how it makes us feel and the way it brings communities together.
Over the May Bank Holiday, College Green will be transformed into a hub of festival activity. The main venues will host talks, tastings and workshops during the daytime. You can learn how to make sauerkraut and dumplings, cook with the seasons, make the most of your leftovers, improve your knife skills and hear from some of Bristol’s best chefs who will be sharing recipes, tips and ideas. All cooking demos are free and open to everyone as long as you register on the website.
There’s plenty happening for children too. On Saturday 30th April, Jo Ingleby, winner of the BBC Food and Farming Awards Cook of the Year 2015, will be demonstrating how to cook with kids. The Travelling Kitchen will also take children aged 8-12 on a culinary historical journey from Tudor times, right through to the twentieth century.
Riverford Organic Farms will be encouraging children to find and identify worms because they are so crucial to our soil health. Children of all ages can learn about the importance of bees and how we can best look after them. And, in collaboration with Frank Water, a water-themed poetry workshop for children aged between 6 and 13 will be held on Sunday 2nd May in the Riverford Yurt.
On Bank Holiday Monday (2nd May) the much-loved Dragonbird Theatre will be performing twice and inviting children (between 4-11) to come on a magical journey – which will involve watching a short show then stepping into a world full of interactive adventure.
There will be plenty to eat, try and buy as the best street food producers from across the South West will come together to create 3 days of ‘Street Food Central’. Plus in collaboration with Casus Events, Food Connections welcomes the Producers’ Market back to Millennium & Anchor Square. From chutneys to charcuterie, cheese to beer, visitors will be able to purchase artisan goodies from the region’s best food producers.
And new for this year is an incredibly exciting music and performance line up because good food deserves good music. Each night of the Bank Holiday weekend, live music will be performed in the Travelling Barn on College Green. Featuring a brilliant consortium of Bristol bands, these evenings are guaranteed to have everyone on their feet and dancing, with headline acts: The John Langan Band, The Turbans and Honeyfeet. The audience will, of course, be kept fed and watered well into the night with a bar and street food village.