ARTISTS AND COMMUNITIES COOK UP A BANQUET

Artists and communities are coming together this October for a celebration of all things food in the splendour of the Pavilion Theatre in Blackpool Winter Gardens. Banquet, which runs over Friday 23 and Saturday 24 October, combines performances, installations, talks and shared meals which all explore food, what it means to us, where it comes from and the pleasure of eating together.

The Friday evening will see theatre company Unfinished Business create a new show called Walk, Talk, Eat With Me in collaboration with young people from Blackpool based homeless charity Streetlife. Starting with a personal tour through the town and ending with a meal which audiences will help to create, the show aims to share stories and experiences of homelessness in Blackpool.

The Horseshoe area around the Pavilion Theatre will play host to the Banquet Food Hall organised by Sustainable Food Lancashire from 11am to 5pm on the Saturday. The food hall will play host to a delicious array of food themed stalls, installations and talks exploring all aspects of food, sustainability and health. Children will also be able to start their foodie journeys with specially created activities and, if you’re feeling peckish, you’ll be able to taste some grub from some of Lancashire’s premier food producers.

Environment artist and food activist Kerry Morrison and FoodRiot chef Gill Watson will be hosting a performance and meal combined entitled Dishing the Dirt which questions where our food comes from. Not always for the faint hearted the meal will include a host of culinary surprises as science and art collide to create an unforgettable experience for audiences from 12pm until 2pm on Saturday.

The residents of Grange Park alongside Squash Nutrition will also be coming together to create the Homestead Harvest Pancake House in the Pavilion Theatre. People are invited to come along and try a plate of tasty free pancakes with fruit fillings fresh from the harvest from 3pm on Saturday.

Kerenza McClarnan, Creative Engagement Manager at LeftCoast, said:

“Banquet is the culmination of months of artist led activities in communities helping to create everything from the plates and bowls, to the table and the salt people will put on their meals. Food is such an integral part of our daily lives so it is great to be able to give people an insight into where it comes from before it lands on our plates.”

“We’re also really lucky to be able to hold Banquet in the beautiful surroundings of the Winter Gardens Pavilion Theatre, a space that many don’t get to see all that often, and one that gives a sense of grandeur to the event.”

Tickets for Walk, Talk, Eat With Me are available for £6 per person. Tickets for Dishing the Dirt are available for £8.50 per person. The Banquet Food Hall and Homestead Harvest Pancake House are both FREE to attend.

For more information about Banquet or to book your ticket visit www.leftcoast.org.uk/banquet

Anyone wanting to follow the development of Banquet between now and the event can visit the Banquet blog at http://banquetblog.leftcoast.org.uk to find out about the artist led activities happening across Blackpool and Wyre.