Littleborough Food & Drink Festival Serves Up a Spectacular Day

Littleborough’s streets came alive on Saturday as the annual Littleborough Food & Drink Festival transformed Hare Hill Road and Victoria Street into a bustling celebration of flavours, creativity and community spirit. The event drew huge crowds eager to sample world cuisine, enjoy live entertainment and support local businesses.

Organised by LittleboroughLocal and The Star Tree Studio with valuable assistance from Littleborough Events and Associations Forum (LEAF), , the festival once again showcased the very best of the town’s independent traders, food producers and performers.

Festival‑goers were spoilt for choice with an impressive line‑up of food and drink stalls offering tastes from across the globe:

• Malaka Brothers served up authentic Greek dishes
• Bombay Brew brought their popular kebabs and samosas
• North West Game offered wild game burgers and hotdogs
• Aberdeen Angus burgers from Bank Top Farm proved a hit with meat lovers

For those with a sweet tooth, the options were irresistible:

• Fab’s Ices with classic ice creams and lollies
• Kiki’s Crêpes delivering French crêpes fresh from the griddle
• North Churros delighting visitors with churros and warm chocolate sauce

The Wilde Bakery, Baked By Nicola, and local coffee shops offering flapjacks, brownies, cookies and cakes

Newcomer Tosha Dibba impressed with homemade chutneys, pickles and curry sauces, while The Cheese Counter showcased quirky cheeses from around the UK. CraftyCook by Kandy Kitchen Creations brought their popular meal kits, and Yoyo Laos Sauce added a spicy kick with their homemade chili sauces.

To keep everyone refreshed, The Gin Joint served gin and tonics, Pop... Fizz... Cheers! provided prosecco and fizz, and festival sponsor, The Moorcock, offered a selection of beers. Making their festival debut, Urban Spirit Vodka introduced visitors to their fabulous vodka handcrafted right here in Littleborough.

Crowds gathered throughout the day for three live cooking demonstrations by MasterChef finalist Paul Evans, hosted by fellow MasterChef champion Simon Wood.

The sessions drew enthusiastic audiences keen to pick up tips, techniques and inspiration from two of the area's most recognisable culinary talents.

Children also had the chance to get hands‑on in the kitchen with The Foodie Kitchen, whose cookery classes proved extremely popular with young budding chefs.

The festival’s entertainment programme brought energy and atmosphere to the streets:

• Wardle Junior Blast kicked off the day with a lively brass performance
  
  
  
  
  
• Zumba with Caroline got the crowds moving

• Bloom Music Community CIC Choir filled the festival with uplifting harmonies
  
  
  
  
  
• Finally, the MiddleTones delivered two crowd‑pleasing sets in the afternoon with songs from Oasis, The Arctic Monkeys, Pulp, The Smiths and other top tier bands.

Families enjoyed face painting by Vix Face Painting and creative craft activities with The Star Tree Studio, ensuring plenty of fun for children of all ages.

Shops and cafés along Hare Hill Road and Victoria Street opened their doors to welcome visitors, many reporting a busy and successful day. The festival once again highlighted the strength of Littleborough’s independent business community and encouraged residents to continue shopping local.

The event was made possible thanks to generous support from:

• The Moorcock – Blackstone Tavern & Kitchen
• Rochdale Borough Council
• Crook Hill Community Benefit Fund

Their backing helped create a vibrant, safe and well‑organised festival for the whole community.

With hundreds of visitors, a diverse range of stalls, and a packed entertainment schedule, the 2026 Littleborough Food & Drink Festival was a resounding success. The organising team, LittleboroughLocal and Star Tree Studio said "It was great to see the amazing support for our little food festival today. Thanks to everyone who visited."

"We are grateful to our sponsors The Moorcock, including Paul Evans and Simon Wood for giving up their time for the cooking demonstrations" 

"Thanks to all the entertainment, providers, stall holders, shops and cafes for all their efforts to make the event a huge success."

"Finally, huge thanks to the team of volunteers from Littleborough Events and Associations Forum for their support behind the scenes and on the day to bring this event together - without them this would not be possible."