The Watercress Festival
When: 19th May 2013, 10am – 4pm
Where: Alresford, Hampshire
£: Free (Car parking costs £3 in Alresford and £5 at the Park and Ride in Ropley)
What is it?
Celebrate the quintessentially British crop with the 9th annual Watercress Festival on Sunday 19 May 2013. The festivities start at 10am and continue until 4pm. The day will be jam-packed full with events including live music, cookery demonstrations, watercress farm tours and artisan stalls selling everything from watercress fudge and watercress ice cream to watercress sausages and burgers. The Watercress Festival marks the start of National Watercress Week which runs from 19th to 26th May 2013 and celebrates all things great about the little leaf with a big peppery bite.
The Watercress Festival is free to attend with the only charge being the car park (£3 in Alresford and £5 at the Park and Ride in Ropley) so what better way to spend your Sunday than with your family and friends in the ‘capital’ of watercress. A traditional cavalcade with the King and Queen of watercress marks the start of the festival where the first watercress of the season is showered onto spectators from a horse and cart. The festival will also play host to cookery demonstrations by local chef Rosemary Moon, and the winner of the Great British Watercress Cook Off competition who will recreate the winning watercress recipe live, after scooping an attractive £2000 cash prize.
Winner of the 2010 World Watercress Eating Championships
The ever popular World Watercress Eating Championships is a star attraction where competitors try to eat two bags of watercress in the quickest possible time and beat the Guinness World Record which currently stands at 46.69 seconds; hilarious and strangely compelling to watch!
There’s plenty to amuse the children at the festival including a critter pool at The Watercress Alliance stand where kids can get up close and personal with over forty types of insects which live in or by the watercress beds. Learn the classic art of bunching watercress, check out the petting zoo or have a go on the climbing wall. There will also be face painting and street entertainment.
More info: Visit watercress.co.uk/festival and www.watercressfestival.org