Over 50 Artisan Ciders
Cider Trail, Local Bands & Free Shuttle Bus
Bigger and Better than Ever Before
The Brogdale Artisan Cider Festival is taking place on the 29th and 30th of August this year and is set to be bigger and better than ever. Local producers of Artisan Cider will be pitching up with barrels of scrumptious Cider and Perry, generally only available in selected outlets.
Single producers in attendance will include Kentish Pip, Turners, Kent Cider Company, Biddenden, Duddas Tun and East Sutton Vine Garden. The main bar will be run by Tiddly Pomme at Brogdale who produce Woolly Pig Cider. They will also stock over 20 artisan Ciders and Perry, mainly from around Kent although a couple of the West Country Ciders have proved exceptional enough to squeeze in!
A Cider Trail will guide visitors to each of the local producers encouraging sampling and scoring, to determine a favourite “Cider or Perry of the Festival”. The winning Cider of 2014 was “Pip the Elder” produced by Kentish Pip and was entirely the peoples vote! Local bands will be playing through the weekend with headlines acts being “Cocos Lovers”, “Rudy Warman” and “Stu Edwards and Gone Country”.
In light of popular demand last year two free shuttle buses will be running from Faversham train station to Brogdale throughout the weekend allowing visitors easy access from public transport routes. The buses will be running alternatively throughout the day to avoid any long delays in catching the bus.
Bernie Cranfield, Events and Marketing Manager for Brogdale Collections comments;“we have worked hard this year to grow the Cider Festival and offer visitors a packed weekend full of local food, drink, music and entertainment. Kent is really a hidden gem for fine artisan Cider and we are proud to support the smaller producers. Encouraging an appreciation for local produce is high on our agenda here at Brogdale and that really underpins our whole ethos for the weekend”.
Local stalls of hot food will include a Hogroast, Mexican, Crepes, Thai Cuisine, Italian Deli, Curros and Hotdogs. Stalls will also include fine ground coffee, milkshakes and a vintage tearoom along with produce such as preserves, artisan cheese, nuts, chilli, cakes and fudge.
Entertainment for all ages will include archery, pig racing, wellie wanging, space hoppers races, trifle eating competitions and outdoor games. Morris dancers will be in full swing on Saturday and the Swale Vehicle Club will be bringing over 20 classic cars over the weekend. Debbie Hickman from Tiddly Pomme at Brogdale will demonstrate Cider Making from a hand press and Grow Plant Centre will demonstrate juice pressing in the Greenhouse.
There will be plenty on offer for the children also with a bug roadshow featuring large creepy crawlies and hands on bug crafts. The Kent Kite Flyers will be flying oversized kites and running kite making workshops along with the Teddy Bear Parachute.
Tickets can be purchased online at a discounted price through the website www.brogdalecollections.org.
