Street Food Circus has launched its 2024 programme with two new events joining its regular line up across south Wales.
The first new venture, Fantastic Fête, will take over the grounds of St Donat’s Castle on the Vale of Glamorgan coast for the first weekend in August [Friday 2nd – Sunday 4th]. Street Food Circus is reimagining the classic summer fête – remixing folk traditions with the unexpected – from magical morris dancing to the world’s biggest bouncy castle.
Food and feasting will take centre stage at the event, with a street food line-up bringing cuisines from around the world alongside a farmers’ market, pop-up pub and a lido swimming pool for people to swim and relax around.
Street Food Circus founder and ringmaster, Matt the Hat, explained:
“We’ll have the best street food Wales has to offer – but this is about more than just the food. This will be our biggest event to date. We’ve been cooking it up for years with family activities, entertainment and a fantastical walk through the castle gardens to the main event. And after dark, as the sun sets on this epic castle by the sea you can expect a very special evening finale,” he said.
Moving west, the second new event, Saundersfoot Harbour Festival will run over the first weekend in September (Friday 6th – Sunday 8th). Street Food Circus will be bringing the pirate spirit to the National Events Deck at Saundersfoot Harbour with street food and entertainment based around the harbour’s life-size Coastal Schooner.
As well as bringing the travelling street food line-up to the town, visitors can expect a gravity-defying pirate circus show, sea shanties and lots of walkabout entertainment for families.
The 2024 SFC programme also sees the return of its two spring and summer residencies.
For five weekends in April and May [19 April – 19 May], Forest Feastival returns to the Merthyr Mawr Estate, bringing a family friendly global feast to these unique woodlands by the sea. As well as a rotating line-up of street food favourites – and some new faces – Forest Feastival includes circus performers, live music, cabaret and DJs in the evening sessions and for the kids, a circus school and marshmallow fire pits.
The Big Banquet rolls into Caldicot Castle for the spring half term weekends, including the late May bank holiday [24 May – 2 June]. Centred around long-table communal banquet dining under a big top, Street Food Circus transforms the castle grounds with a free circus school, fire shows and one of the UK’s best-known high-wire acts, Chris Bullzini, performing eight metres above the crowds.
Street Food Circus has curated a line up of more than 40 traders to appear across the four events. These include returning favourites like Keralan Karavan and Bao Selecta, well-known names appearing for the first time, like Hill’s Burgers and traders who launched last year making a welcome return such as Straight Outta Canton, Two Lads Kitchen and Pot Heads.
Matt added:
“We’re always looking for that perfect balance of SFC stalwarts and to find and support the new talent emerging on the street food scene. We know we’ve got some people who come year in, year out to visit their favourites, and those who want to try something new every time they visit.
“Central to our mission as Street Food Circus is to give a platform to new traders – many of those who started with us have gone on to open their own bricks and mortar restaurants over the years. So we’re thrilled to be adding lots of new flavours from all over the world to the line up this year. From Africa and Afghanistan to Indonesia and Nepal – you’re guaranteed to find something you’ve never tried before,” he said.
New traders for 2024 include award-winning birria tacos from Bristol’s Gourmet Warriors, traditional Himalayan-inspired recipes from Mandela Street Food and authentic Indonesian dishes from Waroeng Nona.
Desserts come from Rebel Crumble, Bake Off The Professionals champion Minto’s Patisserie and SFC favourite Pwdin.
