Black Isle Food & Drink Festival
Some of the pulicity leading up to the event.
(Click on image to enlarge)
Final Countdown
It’s the final countdown to the Black Isle Food and Drink Festival this Saturday at Findon Hall, Culbokie. Join us to greet Dennis Overton, who will open the event at 2pm; sample tasters of a rich variety of local produce at stalls both inside and outside the hall; watch fascinating demos (with tasters) by our experts; quiz Dingwall Beekeepers about local honey; find out about Highland Good Food Partnership including an exciting Black Isle FEAST initiative; visit the Highland Community Waste Partnership stand; and take advantage of the apple press for juicing your glut of apples. You may even like to try your hand at the Tombola stall, packed with scores of food and drink items.
Parking for the event will initially be by the Sharing Shed and at Culbokie Church Centre. A special shuttle service, courtesy of Bruce and the Wee Bus, from the recycling car park to the hall for those with mobility problems, will also be available.
We are delighted to have Cairn Housing Association, Culbokie Store and ARK Estates (Scotland) Ltd as sponsors for this inaugural event.
Whet your appetite and quench your thirst at the Black Isle Food and Drink Festival TODAY
We're looking forward to a great afternoon, meeting stallholders, guest demonstrators and visitors to our special event at Findon Hall.
Reminders: bring cash as not all stallholders have card readers; visit the stall near the entrance to book a place at one of the demos; and check out the local producers on the CCT website. All welcome.
CCT webpage
A highly successful event
Planning and organising the first Food and Drink Festival on the Black Isle was a tall order. In the months leading up to the event, the small team of organisers had many moments of doubt. How can we be sure to attract customers? Will stallholders be prepared to offer tasters? Will the demonstrations go off without a hitch? Can we rely on the weather? In the end, the sun shone, and the day proved enjoyable for customers, stallholders and demonstrators alike.
Our sincere thanks to Dennis Overton for opening the event and setting in context the origins of the community markets on the Black Isle; to sponsors Cairn Housing, ARK Estates (Scotland) Ltd and Culbokie Spar; to the stallholders, local producers and demonstrators whose enthusiasm for the project kept us buoyant; and to our loyal team of volunteers, without whom we could not have transformed the space to accommodate so many stalls, both inside the hall and outside. Thank you, everyone, for helping to raise over £1800 for the Glascairn Project.
In the past few weeks, we have received many encouraging comments: here are just a few: ‘A huge turn-out of producers and customers’ (stallholder); ‘The event was fantastic’ (customer); ‘It was a pleasure to be part of the local community’ (demonstrator); ‘A cracking afternoon’ (stallholder).
We welcome further comments. We are interested to find out whether we could count on your support for another food and drink festival on the Black Isle. Already plans are afoot for a second extended Black Isle Food and Drink Festival on Friday, August 23rd (evening) and Saturday, August 24th, 2024. Please let us know any recommendations you may have.
