Festival a taste sensation

A foodie feast, combined with a maritime spectacle, attracted some 15,000 people to the banks of the River Medway in Chatham last year.

Now in its fourth year, the Chatham Maritime Food and Drink Festival brings a tasty line-up of Kentish food and drink producers, live music and fun on the water to St Mary’s Island, Chatham, from Saturday, May 27 to Bank Holiday Monday. Festival-goers can pick from 30 local artisan and award-winning food and drink producers. “There will be so many delicious things to sample, many of them award-winning and truly local as they’re grown and made in Kent,” said organiser Vic Hazell, of The Event Umbrella.

The waterside bandstand will host 19 local acts over the three days and there willl be pop-up performances by string quartets, ukuleles and choirs. Cheer on the charity Dragon Boat races on Sunday, May 28, organised by Medway Sunlight Rotary, while for the first time, the festival will host a charity fun run, the Big Purple Fun Run, on Bank Holiday Monday, with the Stroke Association and Chatham Rotary, consisting of a 4km course around St Mary’s Island.

There is a dedicated families area with fun fair and ferris wheel – dubbed The Chatham Eye last year – plus face painting and a craft tent. Visitors can try their hand at watersports with Arethusa Watersports Centre and Xambor Watersports will be bringing along their floating inflatable obstacle course on the Saturday and Monday for ages eight and over.

The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships will feature some of its historical ships as part of a commemorative cruise, reflecting Chatham’s maritime heritage, while the Barge Association celebrates its 25th anniversary with 19 Dutch barges of all shapes, ages and sizes on the water – with one hosting a Rochester Symphony Orchestra string quartet playing on board.

The festival is free to enter and runs from 10am to 6pm each day.

Chatham Maritime Food and Drink Festival is now in its fourth year