THOUSANDS of visitors flocked to the first eat:Minehead food and drink festival last Saturday, creating a real buzz in the town as The Avenue closed to traffic all day.

The event was such a success that Minehead BID (Business Improvement District) and eat:Festivals, which organised it, are considering having another at Easter as well as in October next year.

“Despite a poor weather forecast, many thousands ventured into town and stallholders told us they were taken aback by the numbers,” said BID chairman Graham Sizer.

“There was something for everyone. Entertainers roamed the streets and the children loved it. Families were trying new tastes and even the Butlin’s weekend visitors were sidetracked and got involved.”

There were over 80 stalls at the festival, with producers from in and around Somerset providing a range of everything from home grown produce and patisseries to farmers’ market favourites.

Sarah Milner Simonds, of eat:Festivals, said: “The feedback from visitors and producers has been overwhelmingly positive. The local producers have all reported that they had a brilliant day’s trade and we saw many local businesses were busy all day too.

“We hope to make this into a new annual event in Minehead and look forward to working with Minehead BID.”

More photos in this week’s Free Press (October 18).