Wells Food Festival with Charlie Bigham's is delighted to announce the launch of a virtual 48-hour foodie extravaganza over the weekend of October 10 and 11.

Regretfully, the decision has been made by the Wells Food Festival Committee to postpone the physical Festival this year, scheduled for Sunday October 11.

"It has become increasingly evident that it would be both irresponsible and unfeasible to continue with the festival in its normal format this year, during these uncertain times," said festival director Jon Abbott.

"But we are thrilled that working with our headline sponsor, Charlie Bigham's, we have been able to come up with an ideal alternative."

The virtual weekend festival will showcase more than 150 artisan producers, not just from Somerset but from across the South West.

Customers nationwide will have an opportunity to discover the region's finest produce and to buy direct from the makers.

Matt and Annabelle Chapman, founders of The Somerset Smokehouse on the levels near Glastonbury, say: "The pandemic meant that a lot of our big events were cancelled this year.

"Wells Food Festival has always been a great success for us, and a virtual market is an exciting opportunity that we were motivated to be a part of as the world embraces change.

"We always welcome new ways of meeting people and letting people know about our small local business - a virtual market sounds perfect."

In addition to the artisan producers, a packed festival programme is being put together for the weekend, including a fun and inspiring line-up of activities.

There will be live streamed masterclasses, cook-alongs and talks by Charlie Bigham and his team of master chefs, plus guest appearances by well-known West Country food stars.

At-home festival-goers can sign-up to a flower arranging workshop with Georgie Newby, Somerset artisan florist and flower farmer at Common Farm Flowers, and a live drawing workshop with renowned illustrator Emily Sutton, who also creates Bigham's distinctive packaging.

Visitors can have a 'behind-the-scenes' glimpse of some featured artisan producers, enjoy live-streamed music by blues band Harlem Rhythm Cats and enter an open-to-all food photography competition.

"Our aim is to turn this challenging time around into something really positive," said Charlie Bigham.

"The South West is home to a wealth of fantastic independent producers, who have nurtured their businesses by investing time, resource and passion over many years.

"Our aim is to help this artisan community by bringing the Wells Food Festival to a virtual national audience."

"We want 2020 to be remembered as the year that Wells Food Festival went above and beyond to champion our region's amazing food," said Jon.