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FOOD, GLORIOUS FOOD!
The Food and Farming Fair: A Festival of Local Food and Downland Farming at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, Sunday 2 and Monday 3 May 2010
Come and enjoy the very best tastes of the south east this May Day Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum in Singleton, near Chichester. England’s leading museum of historic buildings and traditional rural life will be hosting its ever-popular Food Fair in and among the historic buildings on its beautiful 50 acre downland site.
The Food and Farming Fair is jointly organised by the Museum and ‘A Taste of Sussex’, who, under the umbrella of Sussex Enterprise, provide a comprehensive support service for the counties’ food and drink producers, helping them to expand their markets and make their products more accessible to the consumer. The award-winning Museum accommodates the numerous trade stands throughout the site, bringing together the three great influences on our lives - food, culture and landscape - in one great taste celebration. The event is extremely popular with visitors and exhibitors alike, with more than 60 producers from the region presenting a stunning array of local fare, from wines, sauces, ciders and beers to locally-produced meat, cheese, ice cream, cakes and confectionery. As well as the opportunity to browse and buy, there will be a number of talks and cooking demonstrations, and if you start feeling peckish as you discover all these culinary delights, there will be a delicious hog roast on offer and tasty homemade fare available from the Museum café.
The Museum is delighted that the event this year has received support from The Southern Co-operative. Lucy Avison, Southern Co-op’s Customer Insight and Events Manager commented, “As a local food retailer, The Southern Co-operative strongly believe we have a part to play in raising awareness about where our food comes from and its wider implications for rural and economic sustainability. There is a wealth of fantastic food on our doorstep, and we are delighted to demonstrate our support for Sussex food and farming at the 2010 Food and Farming Fair at the Museum."
The event will again include a showcase of downland farming, with a number of activities and demonstrations to interest all the family. There will be displays of farming implements and machinery around the Museum’s site, including vintage and modern tractors, and a threshing drum. The Interpretation Team will be hard at work, with various farming related demonstrations, including 17th century herbs in the Museum’s historic Poplar Cottage, and a seed potting activity. Visitors will also be able to experience what it would have been like to work in the Museum’s authentic Tudor Kitchen – sights, smells, smoke and all!
As well as caring for rescued historic buildings, the Museum undertakes many aspects of traditional farming, highlighting the importance of agriculture to our rural ancestors. Shire horses and working cattle carry out seasonal agricultural tasks; traditional breed sheep, Tamworth pigs, geese and chickens are raised on the site, and traditional cereal crops are sown in the field strips.
The Food and Farming Fair will be open on 2 & 3 May from 10.30am – 5pm. Admission charges are: adults £9, over 60s £8.15; children £4.80, family ticket £24.75, and include a full day’s entry to all the Museum buildings and outdoor exhibits.
Background information
The award-winning Weald & Downland Open Air Museum has over 45 historic building exhibits and is designated by the Government for the outstanding importance of its collections. Exhibits include a medieval farmstead; a working watermill producing wholemeal stoneground flour; exhibitions focusing on traditional building techniques and agriculture; historic gardens, farm livestock and a working Tudor kitchen. The Museum runs a well-established schools programme, and an adult learning programme of courses in building conservation and rural crafts. There is a café which uses the Museum’s own flour and a shop with gifts and books on countryside and buildings themes. The modern Downland Gridshell houses the Museum’s building conservation centre and artefact collection; there is a daily tour at 1.30pm when the Museum is open, and an appointments system for visits to the collections for research purposes.
20.04.10
