Discover city's thriving local food and crafts scene at Midsummer Market

Shoppers will have the chance to taste seasonally-inspired recipes, meet local food producers and discover Lancaster's bubbling local food scene at the city's first Midsummer Market next week.
Lancaster Market SquareLancaster Market Square
Lancaster Market Square

Hosted by community interest company LESS, the event on Friday June 17 from 10am until 5pm in Market Square will be bustling with local food producers, woodcraft folk, community food projects and keen craftspeople.

LESS (Lancaster District) was established in 2007, and aims to help communities to live within their fair share of the planet’s resources while enabling everyone to meet their needs for a healthy home, food and environment.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The market, which is part of LESS’s ongoing ‘Growing Our Local Food Economy’ project, aims to celebrate the summer and the bounty of local produce, while bringing farmers and small independent businesses into the heart of Lancaster.

In addition to stalls selling their wares, the People’s Café will be running cooking demonstrations to inspire local and seasonal recipe ideas. Victoria from Lancaster’s Sewing Café will be running skill-share sessions on how to make your own shopping bag and fix old clothes. Lancaster’s seed library will be sharing seeds and making seed bombs, and the Growing Our Local Food Economy project will be handing out a variety of local food resources including seasonal local food calendars and community food maps.

Confirmed Midsummer Market stalls include a seed and recipe swap organised by LESS and the Lancaster Seed Library, Growing with Nature showcasing and selling its range of local organic veg, Silent Forest Creations running a pole lathe demonstration and selling woodland crafts, and Cockerham Boers talking about and selling locally-reared goat meat.

The Average Cabbage will be selling vegetable and herb plants and Claver Hill food project will be selling their ‘no-dig’ veg, chutneys and jams.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Filberts Bakery will be offering their range of delicious baked goods., and The People’s Café will be cooking up seasonally-inspired meals on a pay-as-you feel basis while running cooking demonstrations. The sewing café will be running skill-share sessions on making your own shopping bag and fixing old clothes, so take old clothes for mending!

Billy’s Eggs from the Lancaster Charter market will be joining the market, offering a range of local and free-range eggs, while Cheesy Cheeses will be selling a range of Lancashire made cheeses.

Anna Clayton, food project officer at LESS , said: “Lancaster’s Midsummer Market is a great opportunity to meet local food producers and to find out about the sorts of food and woodland products that are available locally.

“A number of exciting community projects are also attending that present new ways of doing things – from offering food on a pay-as-you-feel basis and growing veg in a community setting, to running skill-share repair and sewing sessions.

“I hope for everyone that attends the market to learn at least one new skill or fact.”

Related topics: