Naas Wild Food Festival takes place next weekend

Over thirty stall holders will participate in the forthcoming Naas Wild Food Festival.

The event is just a few years old but it’s firmly established on the calendar and thousands of people are expected to attend. It takes place at The Harbour on the afternoon of Saturday September 9.

The event is organised by Naas Tidy Towns and will this year feature the Naas Wild Food Trail - an opportunity to experience some of the best culinary delights Naas has to offer. The organisers are encouraging people to dress in comfortable clothing and shoes for the event and to “wear a wacky hat.” All are invited.

It will start in Lawlor’s Hotel at 11.30am with bites and champagne before they are divided into groups of about 15 to embark on a tour of some of Naas’ finest eating establishment, starting at Noon and concluding at Vie De Chateaux at 1.45pm in time to enjoy the festival itself - which was first held four years ago.

The festival will run from about noon until 5pm and it provides an opportunity to showcase some locally produced food as well as restaurants and other businesses.

The food provided is on sale at fairly inexpensive rates (€3 for bite size amounts) and the event is modelled on the Hoikitika Wild Food Festival, which is hosted at a town in New Zealand which a population of about 3,500 and attracts some 15,000 people annually.

In a departure from previous years, the 2017 festival will coincide with the Hardly Strictly Acoustic Festival, which takes place in Naas that weekend and will see various venues, including pubs, stage live music events all weekend.

“We hope as many businesses as possible will take part, not just food interests although these are the leaders of the festival. Community and sports groups can take part to let people know what they do and even fundraise,” said Gerry Kehoe of NTT.