A WEEKEND packed with entertainment, food from across the globe and arts and crafts is ready to be dished up as Sunderland Food and Drink Festival prepares to launch.
The popular event will get underway this Friday (6 June) and run until Sunday across Keel Square, High Street West and Market Square, offering a range of events, street food stands and vendors as part of a delicious programme.
Food offerings from countries such as Greece, Germany, America, Turkey, The Caribbean, Asian and Mexico will be on offer alongside a whole host of sweet treats ranging from homemade cakes to fudge.
Each day is jam packed with events, kicking off on Friday at 11am at the main stage at Keel Square, with a performance by Rock Choir.
Throughout the day the stage will welcome a range of musicians and DJ, ending at 6pm with a performance by local singer Sharna Laidlow, who performed on X Factor as one half of the duo, He Knows She Knows.
Friday will also see the opening of all of the stalls along High Street West, with local DJ Jimi Dingwall entertaining visitors at the pop-up stage in Market Square between 11am and 3pm.
June also marks Pride In Sunderland and on Saturday 7 June Pride Radio will be on hand, playing a host of well loved tunes at Market Square, with help from drag queens Sugar and Spice.
Musical performances will also take place throughout the day at Keel Square, starting at 10am and ending at 6pm with a spectacular performance by Abba tribute act, Voulez 2.
Sunday will see Market Square play host to all things African, courtesy of an Afrobeats pop-up. Running from 10am until 4pm, the day kicks off with traditional African drumming by the Igba Drummers, a masquerade appearance and a welcome from the Deputy Mayor, Councillor Melanie Thornton and the Deputy Mayoress, Carol Hopps, hosted by Hypeman Best and Hypeman Blaze DJs, an African-inspired fashion show and giveaways will also be part of what promises to be an unforgettable day.
There will also be performances from Fred Chyke, DJ Sushi Sound and DJ Banko.
For the first time the festival will include a Green Living zone, with the opportunity to find out about sustainability, upcycling and being environmentally conscious.
Visitors will be able to discover more about electric vehicles and learn about Big Bear Clean Ups and the work they do to solve the problem of litter and how that supports animals in Asia.
There will also be unique fun with the Frames Festival pop-up, where people can discover new ways to give picture frames a new lease of life, along with the opportunity to find out about everything from solar energy to hot composting.
A number of hands-on activities are also being planned, with youngsters able to enjoy arts and crafts along with enjoying a range of entertainment and walkabout characters such as the Strolling Gardeners and Liver Cottage, throughout Saturday.
On Sunday there’ll be the opportunity to find some preloved plushies and also everyone can take advantage of the Heritage Bus that will be ferrying people from Keel Square to the Classic Car Show being held at Seaburn Recreation Ground.
It means on June 8 visitors can enjoy two great events, taking in both the car show and the delights of the Food Festival.
The bus will pick people up from the tram shelter at Seaburn and drop them off at Keel Square and vice versa.
Roberta Redecke, Marketing and Events Manager at Sunderland BID which organises the festival believes this year will be the best one so far.
“Last year’s event attracted around 30,000 people and we hope that it will be an even bigger hit this time round,” she said.
“We’ve introduced a whole host of new elements along with everyone’s favourite activities and we look forward to seeing thousands of people come along and have an amazing time.”
For the full programme including all timings and locations visit www.sunderlandfooddrinkfest.co.uk