Sample Food Festival 2023 launches!
It’s been a wild ride over the last few years (bring on El Nino) and we cannot wait for Sample Food Festival to return to the Bangalow showgrounds on Saturday 2nd September 2023 to showcase our vibrant, resilient and innovative local food economy.
There will be a few small changes this year including a move over to the main circle of the showground and the addition of some curated spaces to be enjoyed in a comfortable and relaxed environment. One thing that has never changed in our 11 year history is our selection of incredible regional restaurants, brewers, distilleries, artisans and producers who always put on an impressive array of tasting plates and refreshments to satisfy even the most discerning palettes.
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
Pre-sale tickets are now on sale for our 11th Annual Festival including limited capacity picnic experiences. The picnic tickets are on offer for groups of up to six and include festival entry and a reserved picnic spot within the restaurant precinct on a Wandering Folk picnic rug. We will also be introducing an ultimate kids creative pass this year and have a dedicated area with take home arts and crafts, sensory play and interactive games.
Ticket prices remain the same as previous years as well as free onsite parking available, we want to offer our community an affordable and fun day out filled with good food, drinks and beautiful market stalls to explore! We will be announcing our line-up of guest chefs, workshops and more in the coming weeks.
A TASTE OF NORTHERN RIVERS AND THEN SOME!
Get ready to experience another impressive showcase of local and seasonal ingredients, flavour combinations that will get your taste buds dancing and creative dishes that have put our restaurants on the map as some of Australia’s best!
We are so thrilled that Bruno’s Bellingen are making their way up the coast for Sample Food Festival to showcase their Mediterranean flavours. Also featured on our lineup for the first time is Hey Lady Diner from Ballina who will be bringing a taste of their Japanese inspired cuisine, Kelp Restaurant from Ballina offering a contemporary seafood menu and Livemore Deli from Lennox Head who have quickly gained a stellar reputation for their next level gourmet sandwiches. We also welcome Lismore /Casino based Taco Love Bros who have bounced back from the Lismore flood more popular than ever and will be slinging their fresh and flavourful tacos this September. Lovers of Mexican are in for a real treat!
Returning to the festival this year are crowd favourites Harvest Newrybar and Federal Doma Cafe as well as our tasting plate of the year winners from last year No Bones Byron Bay and Natural Ice Cream Australia. No Bones have made a name for themselves with their elevated vegan menu and Natural Ice Cream Australia completely blew us away last year with their artisan ice-cream flavoured with local and Indigenous produce.
Our region’s award-winning distilleries including Winding Road Distilling Co. and Lord Byron Distillery as well as Stone and Wood Brewery, Little Dragon Ginger Beer and The Cellar will be returning this year. We will also be welcoming the Bangalow Bowlo to the festival, giving our festival goers a huge selection of palate cleansers to choose from.
This is just a little taste of what to expect at this year’s festival, stay posted for the full restaurant announcement as well as tasting menus…. we’re excited!
Please note to accomodate the increasing ingredients prices our local businesses are facing we are introducing a $15 tasting plate option for our restaurants this year as well as the usual $10 and $5 options.
