With only 2 days to go until North West’s favourite festival is declared open and visitors descend from across the UK, here’s a reminder of the full menu of delicious activities.
Celebrating its 18th birthday, the festival is going big for 2023 with a mix of celebrity and regional chef cookery demos, over 180 market traders, two live music stages, lots of children’s activities, bustling bars, fantastic street entertainment and lots of special events including Bottomless Brunch, comedy dining experiences and a one-time, not-to-be-missed DJ set from Gok Wan & Co at The Afterparty.
Special events
There’s a fantastic selection of special events taking place over the weekend in The Albert Halls! So, whether you want to watch a celebrity chef cook up a storm in the kitchen, enjoy a lavish Bottomless Brunch, immerse yourself into an interactive meal with Faulty Towers or Live and Let Dine or get your groove on at The Afterparty with Gok Wan & Co, there’s something for everyone.
Saturday
|
11am, 1pm |
Gok Wan cookery demo |
From £10 |
Festival Hall |
|
11.30am, 1.30pm |
Bottomless Brunch |
From £15 |
The Albert Bar |
|
5pm |
The Afterparty with Gok Wan & Co |
From £22.50 |
Albert Halls Theatre |
|
6.30pm |
Faulty Towers |
From £45 |
The Albert Bar |
Sunday
|
11am, 1pm, 3pm |
Nisha Katona cookery demo |
From £10 |
Festival Hall |
|
11.30am, 1.30pm |
Bottomless Brunch |
From £15 |
The Albert Bar |
|
7pm |
Live and Let Dine |
From £45 |
The Albert Bar |
Monday
|
11am, 1pm, 3pm |
James Martin cookery demo |
From £10 |
Festival Hall |
|
11.30am |
Bottomless Brunch |
From £15 |
The Albert Bar |
Regional chefs and cookery demonstrations
There’s a great line up of FREE demos, from some of the regions and nations most well-respected chefs in a full programme of cookery demonstrations over the four days, at both Bolton Market and Victoria Square.
Bolton Market
Friday
|
10am |
Michael Caines |
|
11.30am |
Andrew George |
|
12.30pm |
Scott Bannon |
|
1.30pm |
Sushma Solanki |
|
2.30pm |
Alain Job |
Saturday
|
10.30am |
Easy Peasy Eatables |
|
11.30am |
Alain Job |
|
12.30pm |
Yvonne Cobb |
|
1.30pm |
Robert Owen Brown |
|
2.30pm |
Kwoklyn Wan |
Victoria Square
Saturday
|
10am |
Galton Blackiston |
|
11am |
Diets 2 Go |
|
12pm |
Kwoklyn Wan |
|
1pm |
Chariya Khattiyot |
|
2pm |
Yvonne Cobb |
|
3pm |
Robert Owen Brown |
Sunday
|
10am |
Sushma Solanki |
|
11am |
Scott Bannon |
|
12pm |
The Baking Nana |
|
1pm |
James Berry |
|
2pm |
Simon Wood & Gav The Butcher |
|
3pm |
Mike Harrison & Gav The Butcher |
Monday
|
10am |
Sean Noonan |
|
11am |
Eugenie Kryklyvyi |
|
12pm |
Chris Smith |
|
1pm |
Sean Noona |
|
2pm |
Anna Worthington |
|
3pm |
Easy Peasy Eatables |
Children’s / family activity
There’s a wide range of free family friendly activity taking place:
- The Bolton Beach Party (free) – Featuring a giant sandpit, play area, a DJ with party games, story time with pantomime characters, fancy dress, prizes and festival legend Magic Mark Daniel with some unbelievable, interactive magic shows.
All-time favourite, face painting is back with a small charge of £3, where children can transform themselves into their favourite character.
- Little Chefs Academy (free) – Become a fully-fledged chef at Crompton Place Shopping Centre at their Little Chefs Academy, where children will receive their very own chefs hat and complete lots of challenges doing arts and crafts and simple recipes. Leaving with a lanyard to show they have completed the activity.
- Around the World (free) - Joining the party is The Octagon with their Around the World extravaganza, where visitors can enjoy interactive storytelling, arts and crafts, puppetry performances, family disco, live performances, parades and lots more.
- Cook and Dine (free) - Cook and Dine is the cookery school exclusively for teenagers.
Budding chefs can cook along with regional chefs before all sitting down to enjoy their culinary creations. Sessions will take place on the Saturday, Sunday and Monday at 12pm and 3pm. Thanks to Warburtons for supporting this event. Pre-booking is essential and can be done on the website.
Music Stages
Over 60 live performances taking place across two main stages. All free to attend – with music spanning folk, rock, pop, indie and reggae, a platform to young performers and groups.
Main stage
Friday
|
12-12.30pm |
Shamrock School of Dance |
|
12.45-1.15pm |
Will Edgar |
|
1.30-2.15pm |
Rob Danning |
|
2.30-3.15pm |
Jess Kemp |
|
3.30-4.15pm |
Cash Wallwork |
|
4.45-5.30pm |
Marbellas |
|
6-7pm |
The Jade Campbell Band |
|
7.30-8.30pm |
Marseille |
|
9-10pm |
Shed Project |
Saturday
|
12-12.30pm |
Destiny Choir |
|
12.45-13.15pm |
Faint |
|
1.30-2.15pm |
Charlotte Mary Band |
|
2.30-3.15pm |
Amy Whinehouse and the Empry Cellars |
|
3.30-4.15pm |
Dave and Dave |
|
4.45-5.30pm |
Billy and the Biscuit Brothers |
|
6-7pm |
Baianaband |
|
7.30-8.30pm |
Electromantics |
|
9-10pm |
Scratch |
Sunday
|
12-12.30pm |
Choir of Westhoughton |
|
12.45-1.15pm |
Bolton Ukuele Group |
|
1.30-2.15pm |
Walkin Day |
|
2.30-3.15pm |
MalPractise |
|
3.30-4.15pm |
3 Guys 1 Box |
|
4.45-5.30pm |
Guacamaya Latin Band |
|
6-7pm |
Hit The Dance Floor |
|
7.30-8.30pm |
Just Like Pink |
|
9-10pm |
Stax of Soul |
Monday
|
11.30-12pm |
Rockchoir |
|
12.15-12.45pm |
Spud Squad |
|
1-1.30pm |
Spud Squad |
|
1.45-2.30pm |
The Aquaphibians |
|
2.45-3.30pm |
Marilyn & the Moochers |
|
3.45-4pm |
Bhangra Smash Up |
|
4.15-5.15pm |
The Shivers |
Acoustic stage
Friday
|
11.30-12pm |
Enchanted Lovers |
|
12.10-12.55pm |
Rob Danning |
|
1-1.45pm |
Georgia Bradshaw |
|
1.50-2.40pm |
Sadie Yarwood Music |
|
2.45-3.30pm |
Squeeze Box Dave |
|
3.40-4.25pm |
Steve Pemrick |
|
4.35-5.20pm |
Pete McDonna |
|
5.30-6.15pm |
Mike Roberts |
|
6.15-7pm |
Danny Quin |
Saturday
|
11.30-12pm |
Bolton Belters Choir |
|
12.10-12.40pm |
Kallea Music |
|
12.45-1.30pm |
Conor Peploe |
|
1.35-2.05pm |
Niall McFadden |
|
2.10-3pm |
Sean Calderbank |
|
3-3.45pm |
Paul Mortimer |
|
3.50-4.30pm |
James Heaton |
|
4.35-5.20pm |
Tommy Govan |
|
5.30-6.15pm |
Ben Krinks |
|
6.15-7pm |
Mike Roberts |
Sunday
|
12-12.40pm |
Luke McColl |
|
12.45-1.30pm |
Tommy Price |
|
1.35-2.05pm |
Roadsign |
|
2.10-2.55pm |
Ellen Lynch |
|
3-3.45pm |
Will Edgar |
|
3.50-4.30pm |
Sean Calderbank |
|
4.35-5.20pm |
Holly Jenkinson |
|
5.30-6.30pm |
Jamie Brewer |
Monday
|
12.10-12.40pm |
Alex Heaton |
|
12.45-1.30pm |
Ste Leech |
|
1.35-2.05pm |
Zoe Unsworth vocal coach and students |
|
2.10-3.50pm |
Zoe Unsworth vocal coach and students |
|
3-3.45pm |
James Casper Mason |
|
3.15-4.30pm |
John Doyle |
Festival Wristband
This year’s must have ‘accessory’ giving access to special Festival-only deals from a wide range of participating restaurants, pubs and cafes – not just at the Festival either. Some of the town centre businesses are running their offers throughout August AND SEPTEMBER with special discounts and meal deals.
Over the festival weekend lots of the traders are offering special deals… there’s a great cocktail offer in the main bar (!) so make sure you buy your wrist band from the Information Point or the Museum shop – it’s only £1!
All wrist band purchasers will also be added into a prize draw to win a Samsung Galaxy Tab.
Sponsors
The event is being supported by:
- Headline sponsors Peel L&P.
- Main sponsors Stateside Foods, Vertu, Step Places, BWFC, Agilisys and the University of Bolton.
- Partners Place First, Clear Futures, Carrs Pasties, Bolton at Home, Warburtons, GMCA, Wagamama, Impression Ltd, Mercure Georgian House and Serco Leisure Trust.
Drop by the main sponsor stands and check out their activity:
- BWFC – pick up merchandise from their stand as well as catching Lofty the Lion there and some of the players on the Festival Stage for a live Q&A session.
- Stateside Foods – grab a slice of free pizza and chat to the team about job opportunities.
- Vertu – try your hand at the Oulton Park racing simulator.
Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Culture, Cllr Nadeem Ayub, said:
“This year we have worked especially hard to put on an outstanding event to celebrate the 18th birthday of the Bolton Food and Drink Festival.
“Every detail has been carefully thought out, from the fantastic array of events, making sure there is something for everyone, to the themed decoration including the town hall lions wearing their very own party hats designed by two local school children.
“I’m looking forward to seeing everybody enjoying themselves, businesses thriving and showing what a great visitor destination Bolton is.”
Tickets are on sale on the website: www.boltonfoodanddrinkfestival.com