Large crowds filled the streets of Burnham-On-Sea on Saturday (29th May) for the return of the town’s Food & Drink Festival.
It was the first eat:Burnham festival to be held since 2019 due to the pandemic. Boosted by the hottest day of the year so far, it was hailed a success by organisers and stallholders.
A total of 74 stalls were set up along streets around the town centre featuring produce from across the region – with a wide range of tempting products on sale.
The whole of the market was held in the open air and there were extra signs and measures in place to encourage people to reduce the risk of Covid transmission.
Co-organisers Bev and Sarah Milner Simonds told Burnham-On-Sea.com they were delighted with how it went. Bev said: “A big thank you goes to the people of Burnham-On-Sea plus our producers and the people who backed us. What a glorious day in the sunshine we had here in Burnham and our thanks go to everyone who came along, wore their masks, kept their distance and kept safe during the day while meeting up with their favourite producers again.”
She added: “I know that some people will have thought that today was too busy for them and I’m sorry that the some are still not feeling confident enough to come out, but people who did come I think had a nice day and felt that we provided just the tonic for a bank holiday weekend.”
Ginger Beards Preserves, below, was presented with the 2021 Local Food Hero award for being the producer of the year across all the eat:Festivals in the region.
Burnham-On-Sea.com spoke to several stallholders to get their feedback on the event.
Mike Smith of Mike’s Pork said: “We have done very well. The trade was similar for us to the previous one in 2019. We attend all the ‘eat’ festivals and these in Burnham are always the best. It was great to see people back out again.”
Nick Parfitt at Chew Moos added: “It was a reasonably good day for us given the good weather. It was lovely to see people enjoying be out again.”
Johnny Butler at Into Coffee added: “It was quite a busy morning for us, and then got quieter in the afternoon. It’s great to that people are able to get out again – the weather certainly helped.”
Dark Matters’ Gemma Lewis added: “It was wonderful to see people back out again, and it was interesting to note that it was very busy trade early on – I think people were eager to beat the crowds. This is a really nice event and I look forward to them.”
Louise Nutt from Nutts added: “It was a nice, brisk day of trade and we also noticed people getting in early to avoid the crowds.”
Chalice Mead’s Mike Wagstaff said: “It’s been such a joy to be out again and we have seen a very good day of sales. We are happy with how it went – it’s well run.”
Shop owners in Burnham-On-Sea town centre reported a mixed day of sales, judging from those we spoke to.
Paul Hale at the Ritz Social Club, which served drinks outside, added: “It was a very busy day for us – we had non-stop queues! We sold two whole barrels of Thatchers with people enjoying ciders in the sunshine. It was so nice to see people enjoying themselves again.”
Nicky Garland at Material Needs in Burnham High Street said: “We were pleased to see some of the stalls located in this part of the High Street, which boosted the footfall and gave us extra passing trade. With the good weather as well, it was a better event for us than in 2019.”
Frankie at Crafty Comforts gift shop in the High Street added: “We were busy throughout the day – the festival brought in extra people and boosted footfall. It was lovely to see people out.”
Steve Wright at Seafoods said: “It was busy for us through the day. I would say it was the second busiest day of the year for us so far after the Easter weekend, but it’s great to see people back in the town centre.”
Bastins said trade had been “a little busier than usual” while Colin at GW Hurley said trade “had been steady but not fantastic.” And Geoff Lewis at the Treasure Chest gift shop on the seafront added: “It was a quiet day for us on what would normally be a busy Bank Holiday weekend day – it’s disappointing that the festival takes people away to the other end of the town.”
These drone photos, taken by Shaun Hills, show aerial images of the event underway.
