About the Midleton Food Festival

The Midleton Food and Drink Festival epitomizes the new food culture that has developed in Midleton, combined with a truly remarkable extravaganza of fun. Its ethos is to develop the Festival into a magnificent flagship showcase of the highest standard in Ireland.

Set in the undulating and bountiful countryside of East Cork, Midleton has become southern Ireland's hub of culinary excellence. With a long held and world-renowned reputation for whiskey making traditions and more recently, its fine Farmers Market, Midleton is a perfect setting for this new and exciting Food and Drink Festival. The rich resources of the surrounding farmland and the wealth of excellent seafood available from nearby Ballycotton has made the Festival a celebration of its authentic and locally produced fare.

Open Air Food Market
Midleton Main Street will come alive with an open air food and drink market tempting you to taste the best of local and international produce. Imagine you have gone to Food Heaven and everything you ever wanted to eat in the world was right there in front of you – sizzling sausages, the best of barbecued meats, a whole pig turning gently on a hot spit, the finest of fresh fish and hand cut chips, craftily constructed cupcakes, organic breads, organic vegetable burgers, homemade ice creams, muffins, jams, chutneys, fresh fruit and juices, waffles, donuts, a chocolate fountain.  Mmmm! Yum! If you don’t believe me, go to our website and check out the list of stall holders.      

Farmers Market   
Visit the bustling  and justly famous Midleton Farmers Market  beside Hurley’s Supervalu at the top of the town. This year, the Market is celebrating 10 years of providing East Cork with fabulous food and drink and there will be music and entertainment and a general air of utter delight!      

Craft Exhibition
The vibrant local craft sector will have their work on display including patchwork, hand made jewellery and pottery.

East Cork Camera Club Exhibition
See the creative display of photos from the local camera club, a feature of our Festival. Talk to the photographers, ask advice – they love their art and are happy to oblige.

Street Entertainment
Watch out! You may get trod upon by a giant man – or woman – no, not a mythical creature but one of our stilt walkers. Have your face painted like a Cheshire cat by our numerous face painters.  Have one of our balloon artists make a replica of Aunt Hilda for you to take home. Or something. Keep your eyes open for the Midleton Brass Band – for the music session outside Wallis’ Town Hall Bar – for the Drumming display – for the Pizza Jugglers from Italy.

Busking Competition -  check out our street corner musicians who will be playing all kinds of sweet music for your delectation.  Amuse them by throwing small change at them! Then, later in the day, our Highly Important Music Judge will award a prize to the busker who is judged Musician of The Street!  
 
Agri Aware Mobile Farm
Agri Aware’s Mobile Farm is an exciting educational experience for all the family. Hold the animals, feed them and learn about their role on the farm. Their chickens, ducks, goats and calves are now experienced festival goers and will happily discuss the ins and outs of animal husbandry with you. But you may need an interpreter.

Food Composting & Grow Your Own Demonstrations - Free! Ongoing throughout the day
Ever  wondered what to do with all that smelly stuff in the bin? Well, your prayers have been answered. Hop along to the Midleton Transition Town Stand see how much of the planet you can save by composting your kitchen waste. And! Find out how to grow your own vegetables – yes, that’s right! They really don’t all come in a tin. Get your own allotment and before long you’ll be dirty,happy and well fed.

Waiters’ Race Thomas Street, off Main Street 3.00pm

Have you ever thought what it must be like to be a Waiter/Waitress in a tearing hurry? How do I get to the table without spilling everything? Well, now you can find out - Waiters & waitresses in traditional black and white waiter’s attire will attempt to balance trays of drinks while completing the Thomas Street course. Thrills and spills for all the family!
Sponsored by Raymond’s Restaurant, Distillery Walk.

Children’s Story Time at Midleton Library - Free!
11.30pm and 3.00pm
Children can feast on fabulous food stories and mouth-watering tales during the festival. Be transported to an imaginary land of deliciousness. Be enthralled by tales of chocolate, popcorn and marshmallow.

Stories suitable for 4 years+ and colouring for all ages.

Window Dressing Competition
Don’t forget the traders of Midleton who will be dressing up their shop windows in a foodie theme. Marvel at the ingenuity with which people can transform a simple shop window into a delightful and delicious extravaganza!
Sponsored by Denbar Jewellers

Market Green Family Play and Picnic Area  - our Principal Sponsors – and we thank them most humbly– are having a celebration of their own, turning their green area into a panoply of exciting  events. Ice cream vendors,, bouncing castles, face painters and fun for all the family up at Market Green Shopping Centre. NOT TO BE MISSED!!

The Jameson Experience Cocktail Competition – bartenders from all the pubs, hotels and restaurants in the area will compete for grand prizes, showing both their superb juggling skills and their supreme ability to mix our world famous Jameson Whiskey with the fruits and flavours in the world, culminating in such an exotic concoction that the faint hearted will simply be unable to bear. The final of this tantalizing competition being staged at the Old Distillery, at 4.30pm on Saturday, 11th September

Wallis Town Hall Bar Music Fest
All week, every night, Midleton’s  Major Music Venue will host a splendiferous array of the finest musicians money can’t buy, starting with the amazing Papa Zitas on Sunday, 4th September and culminating in an all ticket, all encompassing display of musical brilliance from the internationally acclaimed Aslan!
Another one NOT TO BE MISSED!!