Really Wild Festival
If foraging is your forte, Road Trips Foodies, you really shouldn’t miss the “Really Wild Festival” held each year at Whitesands Road, St. Davids, Pembrokeshire, Wales, United Kingdom. This year’s dates are July 29 and 30, 2011.
This is a food and rural life festival featuring food and drink tasting, a local produce market, farming demonstrations, workshops, participation events and cultural displays. Now in its seventh year, the fest was founded by Julia Horton-Powdrill, a native of Wales who has always been passionate about its countryside.
The purpose is to allow visitors to sample produce that has originated, specifically, from the natural countryside of Wales. In fact, all stallholders must prove the source of their produce to the Festival organizers prior to their allocation of space. This year’s vendors include local food producers and craftspeople, farmers, wild food gatherers, instrument makers, spinners, weavers and feltmakers.
Cookery demonstrations showcase local ingredients, vendors will sell local produce and there’s a pig race — with actual pigs as the contestants. Yun Hider will lead a walk exploring the hedgerows, lanes and beach coves in St Davids in search of wild bounty. Lara Bernays will discuss the medieval use of medicinal herbs. (If you need a recipe for Nettle Beer, there’s one online.)
The Really Wild Festival is run by a CIC (Community Interest Company) which is a limited company with special additional features in the UK. It’s for the use of those who want to conduct a business or other activity for community benefit, and not for private advantage. This allows donations to be made to appropriate charities.
(Photo of wild garlic courtesy of Really Wild Festival)
