Festival Set to Promote Local and Regional Busines

5th October 2009

‘Dartmouth is a very seasonal town’, explains Mr Jones who runs the Manna from Devon Cooking School in Kingswear ‘and as a small business owner myself, I appreciate that many of the restaurants, bed and breakfasts, small shops and cafés in town have a difficult time out of season.  The Food Festival has become quite an attraction now with people coming to stay for several days and eating out and shopping during their stay.  Several businesses have told me that it is an important weekend for them during the off season when their incomes really need a boost’.

The Festival is also important for the many producers who come into Dartmouth to trade at the Festival’s Markets which run on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  This year there will be over 70 separate businesses exhibiting at the event, all from the West Country and 95% from Devon.  This constitutes an increase of more than 50% on previous years and is part of a deliberate effort to expand the festival and attract more visitors by giving it a broader appeal. One new initiative has been to set up an area dedicated to fish and seafood on the town’s riverfront in order to promote what is one of South Devon’s greatest assets.

Holly Jones, who has organised the Festival Markets this year, is very upbeat about the impact the event will have;  ‘The businesses that will be here represent the very best quality food and craft producers in the region and for them it’s an opportunity to showcase their produce to as wide an audience as possible.  With the festival this year coinciding with the school half term holiday we are expecting an even larger footfall than in previous years and that will be great for both the exhibitors in the Festival markets and the businesses in town.  We’re delighted to see even more business getting behind the event this year by running special promotions, putting on Festival Menus and staging small workshops or tastings in their premises’.
As with many producers who took part in the 2008 Festival, Helen Lynch of Tea's Me is certainly enthusiastic about the benefits saying ‘I was delighted by the number of festival visitors. Many were local, some from afar but all willing to try something new. In real business terms, it was my second highest takings at a Devon event, only beaten by the Devon County Show – so that shows how successful it was”. Helen will be back this year with her newly launched Lemon and Ginger tea, Zestea Zinger,  so make sure you come and try it...

For more details visit the Dartmouth Food festival website at www.dartmouthfoodfestival.co.uk

Contacts:  David Jones, Food Festival Chairman 01803 752943, info@mannafromdevon.com
Photo gallery:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mannafromdevon/sets/72157621758182088/
 

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