PENARTH'S first ever Local Food Festival was an astounding success!

The festival, organised by local community group Gwyrddio Penarth Greening (GPG), took place on Sunday (July 17) at The Kymin on Beach Road.

With well over 30 stalls offering a delicious array of local produce, the festival had something for everyone.

The treats on offer included lamb burgers from Glam Lamb, delicious local sausages from Penarth's Cogan Hall Farm, a fresh fish grill from The Fig Tree and tasty vegetarian food from Parsnipship.

Cake lovers were spoilt for choice with a mouth-watering selection of cakes offered by Hamptons. Also on offer were Hippo Hyfryd's handmade gourmet chocolates, traditional sweets from Umpalumpa and much, much more.

Children were very well catered for with a dedicated play area where they helped make Delilah the green dragon. They also enjoyed the face-painting stall and using Pedal Cafe's pedal-powered smoothie maker.

The event was very well attended with crowds waiting to enter as the festival opened and the site remained bustling with hundreds of people throughout the day.

"We were thrilled with the turn-out," said festival co-organiser Anthony Slaughter.

"It was great to see so many people coming together as a community to celebrate local food.

"We were also really pleased with the high level of interest in the GPG stands offering information on sustainable food and environmental issues, there was a real appetite for information and discussion."

The festival was attended by Cllr Anthony Ernest, Mayor of Penarth, who accompanied by his wife Gaynor, was introduced to the stall holders by GPG Food Group chair Susannah McWilliam.

"The range of local produce was quite incredible," he said.

"We greatly enjoyed tasting and viewing what was on offer, and compliment GPG Penarth on their splendid initiative in putting so many products on show, in a way which allowed people to appreciate just what they will find when 'shopping local' in our delightful town."

The stall holders were also delighted by the turnout with many having to restock their stands during the day. Stall holders also commented favourably on the organisation of the event.

"All of the volunteers who spent hours working to ensure this event was a success and all of the Penarth people who came out in their droves to show their support for local, seasonal and fresh food all deserve a huge pat on the back," said Mike Caplan-Hill, owner of The Fig Tree restaurant.

"It was a wonderful day, full of happy smiling faces, no matter what the weather threw at us. I'm so glad we were asked to take part.

"I and my staff who worked at the festival had a great time, well done everyone and thank you!"

The organisers would like to thank all the GPG members and friends who helped make the day run smoothly, 'Travellers in Mind' for providing an excellent cafe and all the people of Penarth and visitors who made it such an enjoyable day.