Beccles food and drink festival 1
Beccles food and drink festival

The 8th Beccles Food and Drink Festival

Saturday, 27th May 2023

10am to 4pm

A great and affordable day out for both foodies and families is on offer with the return of Beccles Food and Drink Festival.

The free-to-attend event is scheduled for Saturday 27th May, and with 60 stalls invited it is set to offer an incredible range of the finest artisan food and drink produce from the local area and wider East Anglia.

Based in the centre of the vibrant market town around New Market, Sheepgate, and in and around St Michael’s Church, the Festival runs from 10 am till 4 pm and will also include world street food, music and children’s entertainment. A new feature this year will be the Local Flavours mobile cookery theatre, generously sponsored by the Visitor Economy Network Initiative project, offering budding chefs and bakers culinary inspiration from local chefs and students of East Coast College in Lowestoft.

A free Park & Ride shuttle service will run throughout the event from Beccles Quay, where additional parking will be available to supplement the ample town centre car parks. Two weeks of Fringe events leading up to the event are also planned, involving a wide range of food and drink themed activities, menu specials, tours and talks.

This year we asked our stallholders to tell us what they were doing to be more sustainable.  Just over a quarter replied.  Most of them were acting on recycling, using recycled materials and re-using materials.  Also, many have reduced the miles travelled, and most have a preference for local suppliers. 

If anyone is interested in helping with the running of this great local event please feel free to contact us.

A great and affordable day out for both foodies and families is on offer with the return of Beccles Food and Drink Festival.  The free-to-attend event features over 60 stalls, which are set to offer an incredible range of the finest East Anglian artisan produce.  Based in the centre of the vibrant market town around New Market, Sheepgate, and in and around St Michael’s Church, the Festival will also include world street food, music and children’s entertainment.  A new feature this year will be the Local Flavours mobile cookery theatre, generously sponsored by the Visitor Economy Network Initiative Partnership.  A free Park & Ride shuttle service will run throughout the event from Beccles Quay to supplement the ample town centre car parks.  Two weeks of Fringe events leading up to the event, involving a wide range of food and drink themed activities, menu specials, tours and talks, are planned.

We are very grateful to our sponsors and supporters, who help to make the Festival an established and successful event in the local calendar.

Event Sponsors

Video from Beccles Food & Drink Festival 2022

Schedule of Events

TIME:  10.00am

DESCRIPTION:  Music Starts (click here for schedule)

LOCATION:  Outside Welcome Store / Next to Tower

TIME:  11.00am

DESCRIPTION:  Mayor’s Award Presentation

LOCATION:  At winning stall: Listen out for announcement

TIME:  11:00 am, 12:00 pm, 1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, 3:00 pm

DESCRIPTION:  Chef Demonstrations

LOCATION:  Cookery Theatre, New Market

TIME:  11:00am, 12:00pm, 1:30pm, 2:30pm

DESCRIPTION:  Hanton’s Punch & Judy Shows

LOCATION:  Behind St. Michael’s Church

TIME:  11.15am

DESCRIPTION:  Presentation of Stall Sustainability Award

LOCATION:  At winning stall: Listen out for announcement

TIME:  3:00pm

DESCRIPTION:  Last Chef Demonstration

LOCATION:  Cookery Theatre, New Market

TIME:  3:15pm

DESCRIPTION:  Last Music Act sets

LOCATION:  Outside Welcome Store / Next to Tower

The Beccles Food and Drink Festival
fringe events

Schedule of Events

Time: 10am – 2:30pm

Description: Music Starts (click here for schedule)

Location: Welcome Store / Tower

Time: 11am,12pm,1pm,2pm

Description: Chef Demos 

Location: Cookery Theatre

Time: 11:00/12:30/1:30/2:30

Description: Hanton’s Punch & Judy

Location: Behind St. Michael’s Church

Time: 11:00 am

Description: Mayor’s Award

Location: To Be Announced

Time: 11:15 am

Description: Sustainability Award

Location: To Be Announced

Time: 3:00 pm

Description: Last Chef Demo

Location: Cookery Theatre

The Beccles Food and Drink Festival

Grazing Trail

On Festival Day we have The Grazing Trail. With over 60 stalls plus musical entertainment, we have created the Grazing Trail map to show locations.

Cookery Theatre

This year the Cookery Theatre will be located in New Market. Here you will be able to observe Chefs create culinary delights.

Fringe Events

Fringe events are events that local cafes and restaurants are holding alongside the main Food and Drink Festival event day.

~: REVIEWS :~

Mission Statement

To showcase, celebrate and promote local artisan food and drink and be an event of choice for producers and visitors.  We will do this by running a safe, well organised event, offering a diverse range of produce and entertainment, to support both local producers and businesses in Beccles.

Event Sponsors

Scroll to Top