During the day, singers, dancers and guizers entertained the crowds who weren’t even deterred by the brief snow(!) shower. The village traders were just as busy as the stall holders, many of whom sold out quite early on in the day.

The Tideswell School of Food, held cookery demonstrations and wine tasting throughout the day and hundreds of folk went on organised tours to learn more about the school and why we’re here. The community kitchen received a steady stream of visitors keen to learn more about what to plant and when. Meanwhile Taste Tideswell’s education office Michelle, ran children’s competitions which proved popular. High Peak Radio broadcast from the festival all morning.

The Food Festival was organised this year by Phil Walker from Tideswell Stores and other traders with the support of the Taste Tideswell staff.

Feedback received has been overwhelmingly positive, many traders commenting that it was the best Food Festival they’d ever been to.

For a fantastic blogpost from a visitor, please click here.

With artisan food ranging from Afro-Caribbean  and Asian, to wild boar sausage and savory eggs, Tideswell can truly boast an experience to rival any real food market in the area, or indeed the country.

Complimenting the artistry and craftsmanship of the food producers will be a few select crafts sellers. Examples of what will be on show are exquisite hand made jewellery and quality craftsman built garden furniture, all showcasing local skills.

Regretably, the advertised Beer Festival has been cancelled, but real ale buffs will still find something of interest at the two stalls selling craft made bottled beers, as well as in the Village pubs.

The Tideswell School of Food will be running cooking demonstration throughout the day and John Hattersley from Hattersley Wines will be running a session on wine tasting, something that is bound to be popular.

There will be a jam-packed schedule of entertainment running from mid-day. In Church Street we shall have Morris Dancing by the combined Brigate and Garters teams, May Pole dancing by the children of Tideswell Bishop Pursglove School and Clog dancing by the Shutlers Clog.

The fabulous Brough Shires will be providing horse and dray rides through the streets, and you can get up close with some baby lambs who will be raising money for the Air Ambulance.

Tideswell Male Voice Choir, plan mini-concerts in Fountain Street. In the Parish Church of St. John there will be concerts by the Albion Singers from Sheffield, and the Children’s Choir.

And if that’s not enough, the excellent Tideswell Players will pop up around the village with a series of readings.

You can hear the interview again - High Peak Radio Interview – Pete Hawkins.

The Tideswell School of Food will be running cooking demonstration throughout the day and John Hattersley from Hattersley Wines will be running a session on wine tasting, something that is bound to be popular.

Here’s the link direct to the School of Food’s Facebook page.

 Save money– a round trip to Buxton costs about £3.00* plus parking

• Support local businesses and local jobs
• Save time
• Save food miles and reduce carbon footprint
• Eat better-locally made food is fresher
• Where food is made on the premises or selected by people who serve you, you can be sure of its quality and origin
• The Tideswell Made symbol makes it easy to tell what’s local
• To save waste- supermarkets are designed to make you buy on impulse. Shop local and just get what you need.
• To preserve our community – shopping is a social activity and the shops we use are essential to the village, especially for the elderly and those without transport
• Value for money is often as good as the supermarkets.

You might be surprised by how keen some of the prices are in Tideswell. Don’t forget that a supermarket typically stocks around 30,000 items but often promotes only a fraction of those at a time. We are very lucky to have Tideswell Stores and the Co-Op that run keen promotions and supplement the ranges of the other specialist food shops in the village.

Taste Tideswell was set up to bring more trade to the village so that our local shops and cafes would survive and thrive. The School of Food and the publicity from the Village SOS TV programme has given trade a welcome boost. But around 1 in 3 villagers do less than 10% of their shopping locally. As winter arrives and we enter the slow season for tourism, villagers should support local shops- and not just when the snow falls. You’d miss them if they weren’t there.

SHOP LOCALLY, IT’S THE SMART THING TO DO

*based on 18 mile round trip @35mpg and fuel at £1.35/litre