The eagerly anticipated Accrington Food & Culture Festival on Saturday 3rd June (10am-4pm) will feature a spectacular WWII war re-enactment and an iconic Spitfire flypast over Accrington town square.
Excitement is building ahead of the free event which will celebrate all things food and culture including live cooking demonstrations on the main stage, a stunning artistic display showcasing the flags of the world, competitions, over 60 food stalls celebrating the very best of Lancashire produce and continental cuisine, cookery sessions exploring delicious foods from around the world, plus much, much more!
Ahead of the war re-enactment from 10am-12pm, Maundy Relief will be raising funds by serving tea and coffee from a pop-up Café René outside St James’ Church.
At 1pm, visitors to the event will witness a spectacular war re-enactment to commemorate D-Day compered by BBC Radio Lancashire’s Stephen Lowe, which will take place in the grounds of St James’ Church and will be concluded by a lone piper from the world-famous Accrington Pipe Band.
The re-enactment will showcase a battle between the Germans and the Americans including parachutes draping from trees, an incredible machine gun nest which is new to the event plus military vehicles and many surprises along the way. The public will be allowed an in person photocall with the re-enactors after the event.
Following the re-enactment will be a special flypast over Accrington town square featuring the iconic Supermarine Spitfire at 1:40pm (subject to weather). Visitors to the festival are welcomed to view the flypast from the specially commissioned Hyndburn Borough Council and Town and District Transport Trust, Coronation bus, which will be location on the town square.
Budding photographers and videographers are encouraged to get the best shot of the day encompassing the Town Hall and the Spitfire.
At 2pm, U12s are invited to visit the Coronation bus, where estate agent Pendle Hill Properties will be handing out 250 Hershey bars and 250 parachute men on a first come first served basis, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the famous Candy Bomber, Col. Gail Seymour Halvorsen, an American pilot who gained fame for dropping candy to German children during the Berlin airlift of 1948.
There will also be a number of opportunities to enjoy a dance and a sing-a-long throughout the day, with 1940s singers ‘Christopher & The Robins’ performing live in the grounds of St James’ Church at 10:30am, 11am and 12:30pm. #AmazingAccrington are also inviting visitors to attend the festival in 1940’s dress, as they look to create a fantastic 1940’s scene as part of their war re-enactment and D-Day commemorations.
Murray Dawson, Chair of #AmazingAccrington, said: “Every year we look to go bigger and better with our events and our war re-enactment, and what better way to do that than welcoming the flypast of the iconic Supermarine Spitfire, which will be an amazing spectacle for all.
“The food festival originally took place in March, however after liaising with Cllr Marlene Haworth many years ago when she was Mayor, we decided to move the event to June so that the festival would not only celebrate all things food, but also so that it would commemorate D-Day, and it has since grown to the size we see today.”
The 2023 Accrington Food & Culture Festival takes places on Saturday 3rd June from 10am-4pm and is sponsored by Hyndburn Borough Council, North Lancs Training Group, Financial Affairs and The Cardboard Box Company.
For more updates on the 2023 Accrington Food & Culture Festival, visit
