Rochdale Town Hall Square drew in the crowds over the bank holiday weekend for the town’s first Street Eat event.
The event was busy throughout, with over 3,500 visitors having their tastebuds tickled, as well as enjoying live music and entertainment in the sunshine.
The event, organised by Rochdale Town Centre Management and supported by Rochdale Borough Council, showcased local restaurants, handpicked artisan food vans, a music stage, suppliers and producers – as well as a pop-up bar.
There was music, beer and a range of cuisines including Spanish, Italian, Chinese, English, German and American.
Mark Foxley from Rochdale Town Centre Management said he would like to see the event return:
“It was a fantastic weekend enjoyed by people of all ages. Over 6,000 servings were made by town centre eateries. The atmosphere was superb with lots of families enjoying the entertainment and the food. The event really showed off our town’s diverse food and drink evening economy scene. We reminded people of the many fantastic food and drink venues we have across the town centre. Well done to everyone involved.”
Food included Spanish tapas from La Mancha, Chinese and Thai favourites from the Red and Hot World Buffet, as well as clucker nachos and pulled pork sliders from CockaDoodleMoo. Vicolo del Vino served classic pizza and pasta dishes, accompanied by American mac and cheese, Mexican chilli nachos, German mini Brawturst dogs, traditional English, sausage and cheese dishes from The Flying Horse and Quirky Catering.
The Art Café served up a variety of quiches and the afternoon’s guests enjoyed scones with jam and cream. Rochdale Town Hall’s Clock Tower restaurant served afternoon teas and traditional dairy ice creams from ‘Nutts about Ice Cream’.
Revolution 96.2 hosted ten live music performances including The Funky Two Hats, guitar soloist Jimi Marsh and acoustic guitarist Lee Feeney. Uncle Monkey played rock and folk covers and Gemma Fox belted out rock classics. Manchester’s Ant Sorah brought the event to a close on Sunday evening with indie covers.
The food was accompanied by drinks served from The Baum and Regal Moon staffed bar. These included ales from Rochdale’s Pictish Brewery and Serious Brewers, along with soft drinks, ciders, wines and cocktails.
There were activities and rides for the children, including Punch and Judy Shows and a guest appearance by Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean!
To view photographs from the event search #StreetEatRoch on Twitter, Rochdale Town Centre or Rochdale Borough Council on Facebook.
30 May 2017