A free, one-day festival celebrating allotments, gardening and growing, sustainability and wellbeing is coming to Exhibition Park in Newcastle upon Tyne on Sunday 15 September.
The Newcastle Allotment and Garden Festival – organised and delivered by Urban Green Newcastle – will bring together food and drink, talks and workshops, live music, family activities, wellbeing sessions, and much more. Highlighting how local communities can improve their health and wellbeing and the areas where they live by getting involved in gardening, growing and horticulture, the event will also promote the importance of sustainability in protecting the environment.
Some of the region’s most talented gardeners and growers will be celebrated in the annual Newcastle Allotment and Garden Festival competition, which will see winners selected from more than 50 different categories, including weirdest-shaped fruit or vegetable, tallest sunflower, and biggest pumpkin. New award categories this year include best water management solution, most eco-friendly gardening or growing method, and best garden or allotment innovation.
The Newcastle Allotment and Garden Festival is also a celebration of the region’s allotment holders, who look after plots of land across more than 60 allotment sites throughout the city. The winners of this year’s Allotment Plot Competition will also be announced at the event in Exhibition Park, with prizes being awarded for nine categories, including Best Group or Community Plot, Best Organic Plot, Most Wildlife Friendly, and Most Improved Site.
Visitors to the event will be also be able to take part in free, family-friendly events and activities with GemArts, Curious Arts and Newcastle Mela.
Carol Pyrah, Chief Executive of Urban Green Newcastle, said: “We wanted to bring a festival feel to this year’s event, so we’ve made the programme even bigger and arranged for some very special events and performances throughout the day.
“In addition to the produce competition, which celebrates amateur growers from across the region, we’ve also partnered with Wylam Brewery and Urban Park Market to bring together some of the region’s best food and drink producers in our food village and makers’ market. Earth & Fire Bakery, Shapes in Tales, and Made of Crumbs are just some of the well-known names joining us on the day. There’ll also be some special brews and blends at a pop-up Wylam Brewery bar.
“We’ve arranged lots of free workshops and talks so people can learn more about the benefits of being green-fingered, and how gardening and growing can improve our local environment. We’re delighted organisations including Northumberland Wildlife Trust and Climate Action Newcastle will be joining us on day, as well as popular gardeners Ridsdill Smith (@vertical_veg) and Dan Matt Clark (@geordiegrower).
“There will be lots of fun activities for people of all ages to enjoy, including tennis workshops with WeDoTennis, circus skills with Newcastle Circus, and Zumba and Tai Chi. Our very own Urban Green Newcastle rangers will be showcasing the biodiversity across Newcastle’s parks – from the fruit and vegetables that grow in the city’s green spaces, to the nature and wildlife habitats that thrive thanks to the environmentally friendly ways the parks are cared for.”
Live music will be taking place throughout the day from Ellington Colliery Band, Rock Choir, Northern Proud Voices and local singer/songwriter, Ryan Bird. Climate hope organisation, Threads in the Ground, will be introducing people to mushroom sculpting and eco-materials like mushroom plastic.
Magic Hat Café – Newcastle city centre’s first and only coffee shop, kitchen and events venue dedicated to challenging UK food waste – will be leading a free, drop in session on fermenting. And Ouseburn pre-loved shop The People’s Exchange will demonstrating how to embrace sustainability when it comes to clothes shopping.
Della Hadingham, Events Manager at Urban Green Newcastle, said: “For this year’s Newcastle Allotment and Garden Festival we’ve brought together some of the very best events and activities that take place inside the city’s parks – including Urban Park Market and Nature Makers – and combined them with some brilliantly creative organisations and individuals to help get Newcastle growing.
“If you’ve ever been tempted to grow your own fruit and vegetables, or you’d like to find out how you can be more sustainable, this is the event for you.”
The Newcastle Allotment and Garden Festival takes place at Exhibition Park on Sunday 15 September 2024 from 11am – 4pm. The event is free to attend and suitable for people of all ages and abilities. For more information visit urbangreennewcastle.org