After hosting a virtual event in 2020 and a limited capacity festival in 2021 due to the pandemic, this year The Bolton Food and Drink Festival has pulled out all the stops and is back in full force, with an incredible line-up of food and drink, alongside events and performances fit for all the family.
Throughout the weekend, Bolton town centre will be transformed into a buzzing hub overflowing with delicious drinking and dining, celebrity chef demonstrations, extra special events, live music performances, food, drink and craft stalls, family and children’s activities, street entertainment, and much more.
The countdown is on with less than a week to go until hundreds of food and drink enthusiasts from all across the country descend upon the town for four unforgettable days celebrating the very best of Bolton and beyond.
With a jam packed line-up suitable for all ages, you can get up close and personal with celebrity chefs including The Hairy Bikers, Ainsley Harriott and James Martin – who are all set to cook up some seriously scrumptious food over the weekend of festivities.
Some of this year’s extra special events include Emmerdale star Lisa Riley’s Afternoon Tea with a Twist – a truly one-of-a-kind Faulty Towers Dining Experience that’s 70% improvised, with none stop laughter guaranteed – daily Gin Masterclasses with James Martin Gin, and Ainsley Harriott’s legendary Caribbean Cook Off, which sees him battle it out against some of our top regional chefs – with you, the audience, voting for the winner!
Festival visitors can also expect free cookery demonstrations from regional chefs including MasterChef winner Simon Wood, local favourite Robert Owen Brown and Great British Bake Off stars Makbul Patel and Phil Throne.
The festival’s music offering is spread across two unique stages, the main stage on Le Mans Crescent and the acoustic stage on Victoria Square, offering an array of headlining favourites, legendary tribute acts that will get everyone up dancing and grooving and a host of phenomenal local performers, too.
If that isn’t enough, the town will be transformed with over 180 traders and stalls spread right across the centre, including Victoria Square, Oxford Street, Market Street and Newport Street, plus a huge range of children’s activities including the Ancient World’s marquee open every day, an arcade offering with video games projected onto huge screens, silent discos and chill out areas for teens complete with mobile phone charging units.
This year’s festival has been curated with the whole family in mind – and there really is something for everyone to enjoy. Wristbands are available for £2 per person, and can be used across a range of festival-only deals from participating restaurants, pubs and cafes throughout the whole of August and September, as well as festival traders over the August bank holiday weekend.
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The Bolton Food & Drink Festival 2022
Date: Friday 26th – Monday 29th August
Venues: Various across Bolton town centre
Price: £2 plus ticketed events across the weekend