The town centre is expected to be packed with visitors from across the county and the North West for the annual event to showcase the best of the region’s food and drink.
There will be 80 stalls in the producers market on Main Street and a hot food court in Market Place will offer visitors a range of tasty grub to tickle the palate and keep them fuelled up for a day of sampling, supping and buying.
There will also be demonstrations by some of Cumbria’s best chefs, including Ben Wilkinson from Cottage In The Wood and Daniel McGeorge of Rothay Manor.
At Jennings Brewery, there will be the ever-popular beer festival, which will be run by Jennings and Tractor Shed Brewery of Workington.
An added attraction there this year will be the Prosecco and The Pig picnic which will feature cocktails from The Tipsy Filly and food from Stonehouse Smokery, who are both based in Carlisle.
At The Hub in Market Street, off Market Place, there will be plenty of children’s activities, including a roadshow by Sellafield Ltd.
All the ticketed events have already sold out, including an exclusive pop-up restaurant at Wordsworth House and Garden where people will dine in the historic house’s kitchen with food created by Michelin-starred chef Kevin Tickle from Forest Side in Grasmere. A Gin Station, with The Tipsy Filly from Carlisle, and the comedy night tomorrow evening with three great names appearing at the Kirkgate Centre, have also proved popular.
Now in its ninth year, Taste Cumbria continues to go from strength to strength.
Cockermouth baker Andy Walsh has created a Taste of Cumbria loaf to celebrate the festival.
The event runs from 10am to 5pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday.
The beer festival takes place from 5pm to 10pm on Friday, from 11am to 10pm on Saturday, and from noon to 4pm on Sunday, with the Prosecco & the Pig picnic at the same times on Saturday and Sunday.
Organiser Mandy Norwood said: “We love coming back to Cockermouth every year for Taste Cumbria.
It’s a fantastic town and the perfect place to stage this brilliant event.
“I’m particularly excited by the pop-up restaurant, some great chefs doing demos and the Gin Station in a unique location – they’re all going to be very special.
“We reckon everyone will go home from the festival a pound or two heavier, but with slightly lighter wallets once they’ve explored all the local businesses, as well as the great producers who join us from across the county!”
Organised by CN Events, the festival was created following the floods of 2009 with the aim of revitalising Cockermouth and west Cumbria.
As well as the main Cockermouth festival, Taste Cumbria now includes festivals in Ulverston and Kirkby Lonsdale, a Summer Festival in Whitehaven, and a Christmas market in Cockermouth.
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