Monday, June 14, 2010

Waitrose joins the Wimborne Food Festival family!


Waitrose has become the biggest sponsor in the history of the Wimborne Food Festival after signing up to be the main supporter of the 2010 event.
With a new store opening in the town in July, Waitrose’s backing for the Festival, which will run over the weekend of 23-24 October and launches Dorset Food Week, shows their commitment to the local community.
Festival organiser Clare Kavanagh said: “This is great news for the Festival and shows Waitrose’s determination to support the local economy and the way of life in our area.
“Waitrose has an ethos that the Festival can identify with. They want to support local suppliers and do something positive for the community and their customer focus is unmatched within the industry.”
Waitrose has already developed a strong relationship with the Festival, sponsoring the launch event last year, and its support this year will tie in with the opening of their new store in the town on 8 July, five months ahead of the original schedule.
Waitrose Branch Manager, Ian Burdekin, said: "The Wimborne Food Festival shares our passion for celebrating quality local food and ensuring producers are given every opportunity to develop their business. The festival plays an important role in achieving this, providing a platform to showcase these local treasures and giving people, including our own local food buyer, the chance to discover more about them.
“Our aim is to build on more than 2,500 local and regional lines we currently offer in Waitrose branches throughout the UK with our new store in Wimborne."
With Waitrose now on board as the main sponsor, Clare believes this year’s event will be the biggest and best since the Festival began three years ago. Preparations are already well under way for the two-day event, which will have ‘sustainability’ as its main theme.
“Every year we have grown and I am delighted that Waitrose have joined us on our journey – I am sure it will be a long and happy partnership,” said Clare. “It’s great that we are becoming more and more popular but I’m also committed to keeping our focus on making the Festival an event which showcases all that is best about this area – the people, the culture and the food.”
Entry to the Wimborne Food Festival is free and it takes over the whole town for the weekend, featuring local independent food producers, brewers, winemakers and chefs, who are dedicated to nurturing, preserving and highlighting the very best in local food and drink.
Last year more than 8,000 people coming to the town despite some inclement weather. This year there will be photographic and art competitions in the build-up and on the day there will be lots of delicious things to eat and drink and many exciting events, including:
• Food market tent
• Country craft demonstration area
• Tastings galore
• Demonstration tent
• Chefs’ showcase
• Kids food factory zones
• Book signings
• Story-telling tee-pee
• Music recitals
• Street performers
• More than 50 town events
Clare said: “We’re at a really exciting period in the organisation of the event, with new producers and exhibitors coming on board all the time. People can keep up with all the latest news on our website – www.wimbornefoodfestival.co.uk – and can join up to our Facebook page.
“The Festival is all about people getting involved and taking an interest in food – so if people want to get the ball rolling at this early stage and suggest ideas and express their views, then that would be great.”