Join the fun and tuck into fine food within the world heritage site at the Conwy Feast
Gwledd Conwy Feast is one of the two biggest festivals in Wales and the most perfectly placed: within the world heritage site of Conwy, with its 13th century castle, walls and quayside as a backdrop.
This weekend celebration of feasting is the last food festival of the year in Wales - held this year on October 25-27.
There’s a reason for that: The Feast is timed to coincide with the start of the mussel season.
Conwy is the last surviving rake-only mussel fishing community in the UK. Distinctively flavoured by the estuary waters, where river meets sea, the mussels are among the stars of the show at the festival.
The Feast also co-hosts blinc, Wales’ digital art festival with its fabulous projections on the castle, mediæval walls and other historic buildings in the town. The Feast’s 150+ food stalls are scenically sited along the quayside, with Conwy Castle in the background, while other areas of the festival fill the walled town.
This year there’s an extended trees, bees and farming marquee - with its farmyard of live animals - to include a major focus on growing your own fruit and vegetables.
The Feast has been chosen by the National Botanic Garden of Wales to be the main North Wales hub for training would-be gardeners.
It has also partnered the Incredible Edible project in Conwy where fruit, veg and edible flowers are being grown in public places for anybody to harvest.
This will be a big part of the Feast’s trees, bees and farming section.
And it’s here visitors will find eleven times Chelsea gold medal winner Medwyn Williams who will be sharing his secrets of succesful vegetable growing.
Other highlights this year include an extended beer and music marquee with a dynamic programme of bands from North Wales and the North West of England including Britpop singer songwriter John Power of The La’s and Cast.
The Feast’s quayside champagne and cocktail bar, with a menu of specially concocted Welsh cocktails – Conwypolitans and Collins Cymraegs to name but two - will also return.
The festival welcomes back a tasty line up of demonstration chefs that includes Bryn Williams of Denbigh, now chef patron of Odette’s Restaurant, Primrose Hill and Bryan Webb of Michelin-starred Tyddyn Llan at Corwen. Meanwhile, Aaron Craze, one of the original Jamie Oliver 15, will be making his Feast debut.
