Sample Food Festival returns to Bangalow on Saturday 2 September.
With a few small changes added, this showcase of Northern Rivers vibrant, resilient and innovative local food economy includes a move over to the main circle of the Bangalow showground and the addition of some curated spaces to be enjoyed in a comfortable and relaxed environment. One thing that has not changed is the selection of incredible regional restaurants, brewers, distilleries, artisans and producers who always put on an impressive array of tasting plates and refreshments to satisfy even the most discerning palettes.
Pre-sale tickets are now on sale for the 11th Annual Festival including limited capacity picnic experiences. The picnic tickets are on offer for groups of up to six and include festival entry and a reserved picnic spot within the restaurant precinct on a Wandering Folk picnic rug. The festival will also be introducing an ultimate kids creative pass this year and have a dedicated area with take home arts and crafts, sensory play and interactive games.
The Food Festival wants to offer our community and visitors an affordable and fun day out filled with good food, drinks and beautiful market stalls to explore and to support this, the ticket prices remain the same as previous years as well as free onsite parking being available.
As a little taste of what to expect at this year’s festival please keep reading and remember to check online for the full restaurant announcement a bit further down the track.
Ben Pollard, Group Head Chef for Trader House will be a special Guest Chef this year and also one of the judges of the best restaurant tasting plates at the festival.
Bush Tucker Tour : Join Arakwal woman Delta Kay for a special bush tucker tour along the stunning Byron Creek located at Bangalow Parklands. Enjoy tasting a range of traditional foods, as well as a selection of local native food products. These items, as well as many more will also be available for purchase on the day.
You will then be able to see the foraged ingredients from these special bush tucker tours used by the Guest Chefs on the Sample Food Festival cooking stage in a series of live cook-offs!
Tours depart from the Bangalow Weir Parklands – Deacon Street, Bangalow at 9am and 10:30am. Bookings are essential and spaces are limited. Adults: $65* Children: $19 (5 – 18 Years Old) * Ticket Price includes your entry into Sample Food Festival.
Bruno’s Bellingen are making their way up the coast for Sample Food Festival to showcase their Mediterranean flavours. Also featured on the lineup for the first time is Hey Lady Diner from Ballina who will be bringing a taste of their Japanese inspired cuisine, Kelp Restaurant from Ballina offering a contemporary seafood menu and Livemore Deli from Lennox Head who have quickly gained a stellar reputation for their next level gourmet sandwiches. Also welcoming Lismore /Casino based Taco Love Bros who have bounced back from the Lismore flood more popular than ever and will be slinging their fresh and flavourful tacos this September. Lovers of Mexican are in for a real treat!
Returning to the festival this year are crowd favourites Harvest Newrybar and Federal Doma Cafe as well as No Bones Byron Bay and Natural Ice Cream Australia. No Bones have made a name for themselves with their elevated vegan menu and Natural Ice Cream Australia completely blew everyone away last year with their artisan ice-cream flavoured with local and Indigenous produce.
The Northern Rivers region’s award-winning distilleries including Winding Road Distilling Co. and Lord Byron Distillery as well as Stone and Wood Brewery, Little Dragon Ginger Beer and The Cellar will be returning this year. Sample will also be welcoming the Bangalow Bowlo to the festival, giving festival goers a huge selection of palate cleansers to choose from.