Southsea Food Festival: Free celebration of Portsmouth food and drink to be held next weekend

Southsea Food Festival, aimed at families and foodies alike, will hit the streets on Saturday July 15 and Sunday July 16, showcasing an abundance of treats and live entertainment. This year’s event has been touted as being bigger and better than before, with more than 70 traders confirmed to attend – a record for the festival.

Spanning across Palmerston, Clarendon and Osborne roads and the full length of Avenue de Caen, there will be some road closures in place.

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From the local scene of Portsmouth, a tour of the world will be on offer with a diverse selection of traders selling foods from Asia, Africa, South America, Europe and India. Dipping into the plenties of sausages, cheeses, chocolates, ice cream, macaroons and fresh pasta promises to be a pure delight. There will also be locally-produced drinks such as Portsmouth aged rum and gin, and craft beers.

Vegan, veggie, gluten and dairy free options will also be available for visitors, with a live music stage providing an acoustic background to the foodie experience.

Chefs and experts in the food industry will make an appearance, pouring out tips and tricks from their profession.

Councillor Steve Pitt, leader of Portsmouth City Council with responsibility for the economic development, said: ‘I am delighted with the response from business for our annual food festival. This shows how food and drink businesses, local and regional, value trading in Southsea at such an established community event.

‘Southsea Food Festival is now in its 15th year and is an important catalyst for our local economy. The event has launched businesses over the years and helped them to test their products and develop their brands’

The Love Southsea Market will be laid out on Saturday, with the Hampshire Farmers Market on the Sunday.

Saturday’s music will see Southerliers, Olly Hite, Fugitive Orchestra, Chris Ricketts, Frankie and Glo, Patch and The Vox all performing. On Sunday, Waif and Stray, Hometown Show, Mary Red, Chris Peace, Just Lucy, Andrew Foster and Southsea Community Choir will all take to the stage.