Starting Up with Rosie Henderson @ Daylesford Organic

Daylesford’s annual Summer Festival is one of our favourite times of the year, a celebration of summer, organic food and farming for all the family.

Plans are underway, so all there is left to do is mark Saturday in your diaries and cross your fingers for sunshine… This year the festival theme is Celebrate Organic, with plenty of engaging activities, tours, talks, demonstrations, live music, children’s entertainment and, of course, delicious food from Daylesford and the producers market – all offering a behind-the-scenes look at Daylesford and how organic food and farming is here to stay – at last.

For more insight into the growing organic movement, head over to the Straw Barn at noon for a Q&A session entitled Why Organic? The fun and informative session will bring together Soil Association’s Helen Browning, food writer Rose Prince and Daylesford’s Richard Smith, chaired by our environmental scientist Tim Field.

The panel will discuss the key issues relating to organic food and farming, share their perspective on why they choose organic, and answer all questions from the floor.

Guests will be welcome to go behind the scenes at the farm on our popular farm tours, market garden tours and guided walks.

The Daylesford farm animals will be waiting to meet visitors.

As well as opportunities to get close to our rare, native and pedigree breeds in the Straw Barn and Dairy Barn, sheep shearing and sheepdog demonstrations will be sure to impress.

The Cookery School will be hosting demonstrations from special guests Madeleine Shaw and Rose Prince.

A highlight of the festival is always the Lily’s Kitchen Dog Show which starts promptly at 11am in the Heritage Orchard – will your pooch win Waggiest Tail or Best Dressed?

The Children’s Corner will be a hit with young ones, with a variety of entertaining and educational activities including At Bristol Science with their fascinating soil microscope, chocolate lollipop decorating, vintage pedal cars and the balloon man!

Children are also encouraged to visit the Market Garden to learn all about seed planting.

Arts & crafts fun isn’t just for children; grown-ups can make pom-poms at the Bamford Barn.

For even more relaxation, head to the Hay Barn Spa for yoga demonstrations and free hand massages.

If all the pampering makes you wish you could stay longer, the Daylesford Wood Store holiday cottage will be open for visitors to look around and perhaps plan a future holiday.

Of course, there will be a staggering range of tempting food, cider and plants from the Producers Market, available to enjoy at the Festival or to take home. You certainly won’t go hungry at the Summer Festival: we can’t wait to fire up our barbecue and wood oven to transform our farm’s organic and pastured meat into sizzling summer treats, such as beef burgers, sausages, lamb baps and rotisserie chicken.

There will also be fresh salads, broths and cold-press juices from the Eat to be Healthy range served in the Market Garden. Naturally, plenty of artisan ice cream and refreshing soft drinks, as well as the Prosecco and Léoube bar, will be available to complete a perfect summer’s day out.

TRY IT
Daylesford Summer Festival is on Saturday 10am-5pm. Entry is free. 
For more information see Daylesford’s Instagram, Twitter and Facbeook pages.