Come and celebrate the very best of Sussex’s food and farming this May Day
Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum in
Singleton, near Chichester, West Sussex. 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. As well as delicious food and drink to browse and
buy, the event will feature tastings, talks, demonstrations and a range of
farming-related exhibits.
The ‘Sussex 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 will accommodate over 80 producers
from the region throughout the site, all presenting a stunning array of
local produce, from wines, sauces, ciders and beers to locally-produced
meat, cheese, ice cream, cakes and confectionery.
To reflect the national ‘Year of Food and Farming’, this year the event will
also include a celebration of downland farming. This will feature five areas
of agriculture, namely, dairying, poultry, horticulture, cereal and meat
farming. Activities will include a traditional dairying demonstration in the
Museum’s historic Pendean farmhouse, and visitors can even have a go at
‘milking’ a wooden cow provided by the National Farmers Union - no
experience necessary! In addition there will be a display of vintage and
modern tractors; an exhibition of food and farming implements; a breadmaking
trail for visitors to follow and a seed identification challenge. The
Museum’s Schools Services Department will showcase the work of school groups
who have studied the food and farming theme during recent visits to Museum.
As well as the opportunity to browse and buy, there will be a range of talks
and demonstrations throughout the event to interest all the family. Last
year, children’s cookery school the Fun Food Academy held a demonstration of
cooking for children by children, which proved extremely popular, and they
will be attending again this year.
The beer tasting tent is sure to be popular, with a wide selection of Sussex
beers on offer, as will the Waitrose stand where visitors can enjoy wine
tasting. If you start feeling peckish as you discover all these culinary
delights, there will be a delicious hog roast, and the Museum’s own café
will be supplying its usual tasty homemade fare, including biscuits and
cakes made with wholemeal stoneground flour ground in the seventeenth
century watermill.
The ‘Sussex Food and Farming’ Fair will be open on 4 & 5 May from 10.30am –
6pm. Admission charges are: adults £8.50, over 60s £7.50; children £4.50,
family ticket £23.30, 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
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.
NOTE TO EDITORS
Reporters and photographers are welcome at the Museum.
For
further information call the Museum information line on 01243 811348 or
contact Cathy Clark, Marketing Officer
Tel:
01243
811014.
Fax:
01243 811475
Email:
marketing@wealddown.co.uk.
Full
details about the Museum and its activities can be found at
www.wealddown.co.uk
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