Old Town’s Sunday Socials finish on a high with Street Food Festival
Old Town’s programme of Sunday Socials came to a close yesterday (31st August) with the Street Food Festival, drawing more than 6,500 people to Wood Street and Devizes Road.
The festival featured 17 food stalls with cuisine from around the world with many Old Town’s bars, restaurants and cafés trading outdoors for the first time. The sun shone for most of the day, with only a brief shower, as thousands enjoyed the large selection of international food, drink and live entertainment.
(some of the food on offer at the Festival. Photos :OT House)
The Street Food Festival was the final event in a run of three 'Sunday Socials' organised by the Old Town Business Association in partnership with Wales & West Utilities. Designed to support local businesses during the Devizes Road gasworks, the events brought huge amounts of footfall into Old Town during the period of disruption caused by the 3 month road closure.
Across the three Sundays, more than 15,000 people attended the Family Festival, Beer & Country Music Festival, and the Street Food Festival, helping to increase trade for many local businesses throughout August.
For the first time, three stages of music were put together, the main stage featuring Old Town Vibe engneers, Erin Bardwell Trio, Ministry of Samba and Corky. There was also a stage from PQA featuring some of their performers, plus George Wilding and Tamsn Quin. Plus a world music DJ stage featuring DJ Maria, DJ Cheffian and DJ Oni.
Kris Talikowski, Chair of the Old Town Business Association, said:
"Think it could not have finished better. The Sunday Socials have shown what can be achieved when businesses, the borough, South Swindon Parish Council and Wales & West work together. They have given traders a real boost at a time when footfall could easily have dropped away, and they’ve brought the community out to celebrate Old Town."
Ross Gregory, External Affairs Manager for Wales & West Utilities, added:
"We know our work on Devizes Road has caused disruption, so we were keen to support these events to keep Old Town busy and vibrant throughout the summer. The turnout across all three Sundays shows how much the community values its high street, and we’re proud to have played a part in that."
The Sunday Socials have been a major success, but they are costly to deliver. If members of the public that attended would like to contribute towards these and future events, donations can be made at: www.thisisoldtown.com/donate
