Scores of local producers’ stalls, Santa Claus and his elves, live music and festive street theatre, and expert demos galore - they’re all on the menu at Taste Cumbria Christmas in Cockermouth.
This extravaganza of food and drink takes place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 December and promises to be a packed weekend of family fun.
There will be loads of shopping inspiration at the stalls and in the town’s great independent businesses, and the chance to find some fabulous flavours in Cockermouth’s bars and eateries.
Main Street and Market Place will be the place to be, with Santa’s grotto inside Cockermouth Pilates Studio, and the Demo Kitchen hosted by Cockermouth Kitchen Company. From homewares and gifts, to the tastiest food and drink, the producers’ stalls will be packed with lovely things to try and to buy.
The Kirkgate Arts centre also has a themed exhibition on over the same weekend. The Taste of the Lake District: Cockermouth, Beer & the Jennings Brewery will be open from 11am to 4pm on the Saturday and 11am to 1pm on the Sunday.
There’s an art and craft fair in the United Reformed Church on Main Street that weekend too, while Market Place Print Studio is hosting drop-in sessions to make pretty Christmas baubles.
Meanwhile, The Taste Cumbria Christmas Comedy Night will be held at Cockermouth Cricket Club on Saturday 7 December. Tickets are on sale on the Taste Cumbria website. The rest of the festival is completely free to attend.
Taste Cumbria is now heading into its 15 year and is the county’s biggest and best food festival. It was created in the wake of the 2009 floods which devastated Cockermouth. The aim was to keep the town, and the wider area, on the map, and the strategy has worked - the latest festival in September brought £2.2 million into the local economy, with some of the town’s businesses reporting record sales.
The events are organised by Cumberland Council. Ellie Jones, event organiser said: “What a fabulous finale to the year this festival will be. We’ve seen successful events in Wigton, Maryport, Carlisle and Cockermouth already and the Christmas festival will be the icing on the Taste Cumbria cake.
“We have pulled out all the stops to make this as sparkling and merry as we can, with a snow globe, storybook characters, loads of live entertainment and a visit from Father Christmas himself. Christmas wrapped up? This is Christmas with a great big festive bow on top!”
The Taste Cumbria Christmas festival is sponsored by Cockermouth Town Council, The Coffee Kitchen Bakery and Milburns Solicitors, and supported by RockWith and Cockermouth & District Chamber of Trade.
For more details visit www.visitallerdale.co.uk/things-to-do/taste-cumbria-christmas