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Crowds flock to “Taste” Wickham

Organisers of the third Taste of Wickham festival are celebrating this week after a record number of visitors turned out to enjoy the event on Sunday 11 September.

Over 6,500 people visited the festival held in Wickham’s medieval market square, taking full advantage of the warm September sunshine and the huge variety of free entertainment. Each of the 5 cookery demonstrations by local chefs were watched by an audience of more than 50, many of whom got to taste the dishes afterwards. The kids’ activity tent, offering free craft activities and face painting was buzzing all day, and Wickham Tennis club’s mobile courts proved a hugely popular attraction with children and adults “having a go” right up to the close of the event at 4pm.

New for this year were the magic shows and stilt walkers which were enjoyed by visitors of all age groups. Other performances included music by local singers and bands, singing by community choir Acca Voce and a dance performance from Roynon Dance Swanmore.

Sarah Walker, a Wickham resident said,

We came to this event last year and really enjoyed it so we knew it would be good, but there has been even more to see, do and try this year. We ended up staying far longer than we planned.

Chairman of the Organising Team and Wickham butcher Ben Sawyers was happy with how the event had gone. He commented,

These events take months of planning with a team of dedicated volunteers, and even more volunteers on the day to keep people happy and safe. When we see people of all ages enjoying themselves at the event it makes all the hard work worthwhile.

The event is supported by The Southern Co-operative, something which allows the organisers to keep it free. This support is part of a wider funding agreement between The Southern Co-operative and Winchester City Council’s Market Towns Development project. Jessica Hughes, Community Investment Manager at The Southern Co-operative said of the event,

It was great to see such an amazing community atmosphere. Everyone who visited seemed to be enjoying the locally sourced goods, many of which we are proud to stock in our local store. Events like these are a fantastic way to showcase the incredible local businesses in our market towns, and promote the importance of local produce as well as encourage more people to consider visiting these towns more often, to keep our local high streets thriving

More photos of the event can be seen at www.facebook.com/tasteofwickham.

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