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The Medway Food and Drink Festival
Published: Tuesday, 27th September 2022

The highly anticipated foodie festival in Medway will take ticket holders by storm in the spring of 2023.

The Medway Food and Drink Festival will be the first of its kind in Medway and will provide a fantastic weekend of daytime food events and evening entertainment on Friday, 31 March, Saturday, 1 April and Sunday, 2 April 2023.

The festival was due to be held in Rochester Castle Gardens between Friday, 16 and Sunday, 18 September 2022, but it was postponed following the sad news of the death of Her Majesty The Queen, Elizabeth II.

The confirmed new date will keep the promise to cook up a storm of alfresco dining, live entertainment, a selection of stalls, comedy, children’s entertainment and live music in Rochester Castle Gardens.

Jewellery, food, craft, drink and homeware stalls will take over the castle gardens for the weekend and live entertainment including kitchen demonstrations with talented culinary experts will inspire festivalgoers.

Medway’s young people will be welcomed with a child-friendly area, including interactive learning, music and games. 

The tasty festival will be a ticketed event, with separate evening entertainment tickets also available, for adults only. Tickets will go on sale from Saturday, 1 October and will be available to buy on Zoom Event’s website.

Festivalgoers will have the opportunity to enter Rochester Castle keep and take in the views from the finest and tallest Norman castle in the country for free, with their day ticket. English Heritage members will be able to grab reduced tickets ahead of the weekend, with the added extra of using a separate entrance to the mouth-watering festival.

Further details, including a list of stalls and acts, will be released closer to the festival date.

Medway Presents more than 30 festivals and events throughout the year and the Medway Food and Drink Festival will set the path for the spring and summer events of 2023. The English Festival will return to Medway on Saturday, 15 April, following the foodie festival, before the much-loved Sweeps Festival will round up springtime at the end of April in Rochester High Street.

Delighted that the festival will go ahead in Rochester

Cllr Howard Doe, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Community Services, said: “We were deeply saddened to hear about the death of Her Majesty The Queen, Elizabeth II. As the festival had been due to be held during the national period of mourning and Rochester Castle Gardens was the designated location for floral tributes, the event was postponed. I’d like to thank residents and ticket holders for their understanding.

“I am delighted that the festival will take place in Rochester early next year, to give residents and visitors to Medway the chance to enjoy the best of local, national and international cuisine and refreshments. I look forward to seeing residents of all ages enjoying the family friendly festival, as part of our aspiration to be a child-friendly city, putting children and young people at the heart of everything we do.”

Find out more about events in Medway. Further information on the Medway Food and Drink Festival will be available in due course.

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