Kirklees Together

Food lover’s won’t be missing out this year, as we are working with Huddersfield Live to bring Huddersfield Food & Drink Festival to us virtually.

What’s happening this year? 

The festival which usually takes place in St George’s Square, has been moved online this year to help control the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. However, organisers are still keen to celebrate the array of amazing food and drinks businesses that Kirklees has to offer, all of which can be enjoyed from the comfort of our own homes.  The council and Huddersfield Live, the organisers of the festival,  are bringing four fantastic days of food and drink related activity to our screens from Thursday 6 to Sunday 9 August 2020.

Keen to get involved?

Whilst the festival is maintaining its name and unique personality it is taking the opportunity to celebrate food and drink from across the district this year. The organisers are looking for the best independent food and drink businesses from across Kirklees to get involved by showcasing their wares, making goods available to buy or order online over the weekend and help show the world what a great place Kirklees is.

Businesses taking part will be expected to offer something special to customers as part of the festival,  such as a special festival menu, discount code, future visit voucher, or a free gift.

The organisers are also looking for Kirklees musicians and bands who want to submit content as part of the festival.

Local businesses and performers have until Monday 29 June to get involved by completing an online form.

This free opportunity is available to businesses that meet the following criteria, businesses must be:

• based within Kirklees
• independent – sorry no national chains or franchises
• rated with a minimum 4 Star Food Hygiene Rating (if applicable)
• have their own website or Facebook page
• be willing to offer an incentive to customers

What activities will be going on?

The festival will be hosted on the Huddersfield Food & Drink Festival website and social media platforms, and will include a range of exciting online activities including a directory of participating businesses with links to their websites/Facebook pages so that people can order or buy their produce.

A village marketplace where independent businesses such as breweries, food makers, gin distillers, bakers, cheese makers can showcase their produce for visitors to buy direct from them.

There will also be fantastic musical and creative performances from local artistes, interviews with restaurateurs, chefs, business owners and cooking demonstrations.

We want to get everyone involved in the event so there will also be plenty for children including fun things to do and make, story-telling and recipes.

There will also be a chance to take a look back at previous festivals in their special gallery.

Cllr Rob Walker Cabinet Member for Culture said:

“We’re supporting the festival this year, to help our fantastic local restaurants, cafes bars and food businesses to recover from the impact of lockdown.  We know that the Huddersfield Food and Drink Festival is much loved by people from Kirklees and further field,  I hope that they will all visit the virtual festival and maybe discover something or somewhere new.  If you’re an independent food or drink business why not get involved, it’s completely free and a great way to drum up some new business.”

Sam Watt, Director of Huddersfield Live said:

“Although we are saddened that due to the current situation we can’t bring our ‘Live’ event to Huddersfield, we’re really excited about delivering this new concept.  Working with Kirklees Council to help the recovery and bring positivity back to the area is so important to us.  We want lots of local independent businesses to join the festival, and we are working on this for you, to showcase and to help increase awareness and economic footfall to your door.  I know that there are also many talented people in Kirklees who could be part of the entertainment programme and children’s section, this is a great opportunity to record content to promote themselves.  If you think you can support us we’d love to hear from you, as we say at Huddersfield Live it’s all about ‘Creating better events together’