Bigger and better Taunton Somerset Day celebrations

Somerset Day celebrations in Taunton town centre look to be bigger and better than ever. The multi-award winning eat:Taunton returns to Hammet Street and the churchyard of St Mary Magdalene for an all day celebration of local food and drink on Saturday 9 May. Alongside the 90+ local producers the organisers have a great line-up of free entertainment.

Organiser Sarah Milner Simonds said "We are proud of the festival here in Taunton and think that the range of food and drink producers we attract to here is one of our best. This festival is very popular with our producers as the visitors are always so interested in the stories behind the produce. These two festivals were the first to be booked up and we have made a few changes to the layout to ensure visitors have enough elbow room and we can accommodate a few more producers.

We will have music from Court Productions and strolling entertainment, sponsored by Porter Dodson, drop in cook school and lots of strolling street entertainers.

Co-organiser Bev Milner Simonds added  "In 2020 we will have 10 brand new to eat:Taunton producers plus three schools competing in the Somerset finals of the Young Enterprise competition. It is great to have local community partners onboard, like the Taunton Area Cycling Campaign - which aligns very well with our sustainable transport goals for our festivals.

We have a great range of producers offering farmers' markets favourites like ales, cheese and bread alongside brand new gin flavours, street food, vegan chocolate and curled ice cream."

The event is fully accessible, dogs are welcome and there are plenty of gluten free, vegan, vegetarian and dairy free options as well as smaller portions. The festival is also single-use plastic free and all food to go packaging is fully compostable. Don't forget your shopping bags.

The festival opens at 10am and runs until 4pm on Hammet Street and in & around St Mary Magdalene Church. Road closures and diversions will be in place from 0700 to 1900, including the closure of Whirligig car park.

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