Bournemouth Food and Drink Festival

I admit, it’s been a lot of food and drink festivals this summer, Shaftesbury to Christchurch, faces looking familiar now behind the cider stands.  But it’s summer, it’s Dorset, and the beaches are just too full to be comfortable (‘heaving’, in local vernacular). 

‘better to head inland, town square, in search of food and music.

 

The Bournemouth festival is both typical and welcome.  It’s near to home, a short walk from the beach, and filled with familiar foods and music.   At the same time, its unexpectedly small for a city-scale event and a bit slow to get rolling on a warm summer Sunday.

And they didn’t post our picture in the Bournemouth frame for Facebook.

We so nailed it better than these guys…

On the ‘plus’ side, there were authentic German food stands,  krakauer sausages that I normally only see at Christmas markets.

   

The sweets were a cut above, and the Chinese dancers were exotic.

  

In the end, though, one decamps to deck chairs with a bottle of wine and a picnic along the river greensward, then listens to the Big Band imaginings at the Pavilion into the twilight hours.

 

It reminds me of Ravinia, music on the lawn, except for the white jackets and boaters.