Bolton Food and Drink Festival will return to the town centre this August Bank Holiday weekend, bringing live music, family fun and some of the North West’s best chefs.
The festival will look a little different this year with some additional precautions and safety measures in place so everyone can feel confident to attend and enjoy themselves.
After restrictions forced last year to be online only, Bolton Council is delighted to work with partners Aldi to bring the live festival atmosphere back to the heart of Bolton.
The 16th annual Bolton Food and Drink Festival will be held on Friday August 27 to Monday August 31 with many old favourites returning alongside some exciting new additions.
Over 400,000 visitors enjoyed the last live festival in 2019, and the annual event has received numerous awards from the National Association of British Market Authorities.
This year, visitors will enjoy dozens of speciality stalls offering food, drink and crafts from around the world alongside outdoor bars and live music.
Some of the best cooks from across the North West will share their secrets during free cookery demonstrations.
Families can take part in a wide range of activities and relax in a new picnic zone in Queens Park, while street performers keep the crowds entertained.
This year’s event will be COVID-secure with a thorough risk assessment in place and some changes to the usual programme in order to keep everyone safe.
Stalls and performance areas will be spaced out to help social distancing and the ticketed celebrity chef events in the main marquee will not return until 2022.
Bolton Council Leader, Cllr David Greenhalgh said, “I am delighted to announce that Bolton Food and Drink Festival will return to the town centre this year.
There are plenty of reasons this festival is considered one of the best of the country and we look forward to welcoming visitors from across the North West and beyond. After a challenging 18 months, we can be positive about the future and I urge everyone to support the festival and back local businesses. A great deal of work is going into making this event is safe so we can all enjoy the food, music and entertainment in complete confidence.”
Ruth Doyle, Regional Managing Director at Aldi added, “This will be our 6th year supporting the Bolton Food and Drink Festival and we are really proud to be the headline sponsor once again.
Our local team will be at the festival giving people the chance to try a selection of our award-winning products, so we’d encourage everyone to come over, say hello and see what tasty treats we’ve got to offer. We also look forward to celebrating lots of local businesses throughout the weekend.”
This year’s Bolton Food and Drink Festival is also supported by Premier Sponsor Warburton’s alongside event partners Market Place Shopping Centre, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Bolton at Home, Carrs Pasties, CityFibre, University of Bolton and Impression Ltd.
For all the latest updates visit the festival Facebook page, and follow @BoltonFoodFest on Twitter and Instagram.
