ONCE again the annual GPG Penarth Local Food Festival was a resounding success. Now in its fourth year the event has become a much anticipated fixture in the town’s summer calendar.

Building on the popularity of previous years and blessed with glorious summer weather the event was a true community celebration of local food producers and suppliers. The festival, organised by local environmental group Gwyrddio Penarth Greening (GPG) took place on Sunday, July 20, once again in the stunning location of the Kymin.

From the opening of the festival at 11am the site was filled with crowds of Penarth locals and visitors keen to sample the wide array of treats on offer. The crowds were spoilt for choice by the mouth watering choice of hot and cold foods on display from the various local businesses.

Amongst the lunchtime offerings were always popular fish grill from the Fig Tree, Old Cogan Hall Farm's very own bacon rolls, delicious Scotch Eggs from Hamptons and tasty lobster rolls from Chef James Sommerin. A selection of local beers and ciders was also on offer from the The New Pilot.

The festival also provided an ideal opportunity for visitors to stock up on locally produced cheeses, breads, cakes, and more. Local greengrocers, The Windsor Fruit Stores provided another lovely display of fresh local produce.

Children were well catered for with a range of activities in the kid's craft tent, which this year explored the theme of the seashore, and the Pedal Emporium's cycle powered spinning paint drum. A very popular addition to this year’s event was the Eggseeds stand where children of all ages could interact with chickens and ducks.

The festival also provided an ideal opportunity for GPG to showcase its various community projects with displays inside the Kymin. These included the Community Orchard, Harvest Penarth and the ongoing gardening project at Penarth Station.

The ‘Shop in Penarth’ stand was also busy throughout the day with many visitors keen to obtain a copy of the latest ‘Shop in Penarth’ leaflet and buy a ‘SiP’ loyalty card.

The organisers were delighted with the day’s success.

GPG Chair Anthony Slaughter said: "The festival has become a true community event and a valuable showcase for local produce. Its growing popularity shows a real public appetite for the local and sustainable."

The organisers would like to thank the hard working members and friends of GPG who helped make the day run so smoothly and the staff at the Kymin whose support was invaluable and also all the visitors who helped make the day so enjoyable. In addition they would like to thank the traders of Penarth who supplied a number of very generous raffle prizes.