GET ready for some great events in Crediton in the next few weeks!

Crediton Food and Drink Festival is back again in the Town Square and, once again, there will be completely free entry, free demonstrations and free entertainment.

It will be showcasing local food and drink producers.

From fudge to goulash to rum, there will be something for everyone!

It will take place from 10am to 4pm on Saturday, June 8.

New this year, the brilliant Lesley Rogers will provide British Sign Language interpretation of all the demonstrations and the opening ceremony. 

Opening at 10am, and with plenty of seating around the event, you can pick up brunch and lunch while listening to live music, and while away the afternoon in the festival bar.

Pop along to Crediton Library for another free craft activity and finish the day in style with a tutored wine tasting at Amapola Wine Bar.

There will be an interactive trail with an edible prize!  Also, there will be an apple press for children to make their own fresh apple juice and a machine for children to make their own cupcakes.  There will also be a painting stall for children.

Follow the Crediton Food Festival Facebook Page for updates in the lead up to the event, including the stallholders you can expect to see.

BONIFACE BASH

The following day, Sunday, June 9, Crediton’s brand new Big Boniface Bash will take place in Newcombes Meadow.

It will start at 12 noon and is a free community fun day celebrating the patron saint of Devon and Crediton, St Boniface, born Wynfrith in Crediton in 680.

There will be stiltwalkers, jesters, minstrels, and more: Send your children and grandchildren dressed as Christmas trees, to take part in the Boniface Parade (all children get a free Boniface Bun afterwards!).

There’s live music all day at the bandstand, and free crafts all day next to the Christmas tree – yes, you read that correctly: a Christmas tree in June!

Boniface is reputed to have been the person who started the tradition of the Christmas tree, the tale that a spruce grew from the roots of Thor’s Oak which Boniface famously felled.

Crediton Lions will be running carnival games, there will be a falconry display and a chance to meet VIPs from Dokkum and Fulda.

Take a picnic blanket, not forgetting a child dressed as a Christmas tree.

There will be a Saxon Fayre, live music, entertainers, games, a drinks tent and more.

Expect local craft stalls, quirky Devon folklore and tradition.

The food stalls will celebrate Crediton’s European links.

Minstrels will wander through the revellers while a jester (who you might recognise..!) will entertain shoppers.

All are invited to join in the fun in the park, take along a picnic and enjoy the entertainment.

Keep an eye on the Town Council social media pages and follow the Big Boniface Bash Facebook event for details: www.facebook.com/creditonfoodfestival .

D-DAY 80TH

Before both of those events, on Thursday, June 6, the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the largest seaborne invasion in history, will be marked in the town.

To commemorate D-Day 80 and other battles of 1944, the town crier will read a proclamation on the Town Square at 8am.

In the evening, a beacon lighting ceremony will take place in Beacon Park (at the top of George Hill).

There will be old-time music, vintage cars, and traditional refreshments.

All are invited to attend from 8pm onwards to enjoy music from Crediton Town Band.

Have your picture taken with a 1928 Morris Cowley, sip on a glass of punch as you croon along to “The White Cliffs of Dover”.

Make sure you are there for the main event: at 9.15pm the beacon will be lit, at precisely the same time as beacons across Britain and Europe.

Join friends and neighbours for two minutes’ silence to mark the 80th anniversary of 156,000 Allied troops landing on the beaches of Normandy.