Food and drink festival to be revived in 2026

The festival had been held in the Villa Marina gardens in recent years

An annual showcase of the Isle of Man's food and drink producers, which was scrapped in 2024, is set to return next year at a new venue, the enterprise minister has announced.

Tim Johnston MHK confirmed the Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival would be hosted at Noble's Park in Douglas in September 2026.

He said his department had listened to "disappointed" producers and recognised the event, held most recently at the Villa Marina gardens, "still had a place" for traders.

Previously within the remit of the Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture (Defa), the promotion of the food and drink industry was transferred to the Department for Enterprise in April.

Following the announcement at the annual Government Conference, Defa Minister Claire Barber admitted the show had been "far more important in the calendar then we perhaps had realised".

When cancelling the 2024 event, Defa suggested the festival has seen a drop in visitor numbers, and had received negative feedback from producers.

At the time the department committed to instead provide a series of regional events using its £84,000 marketing budget, but said it "remained open" to the festival returning in the future at a different site.

Johnston said his department had "recognised how important an opportunity" the festival was for "showcasing local quality food and producers".

He said while traders had missed the event, feedback had also suggested it needed changes, which meant it would be updated upon its return.

The department would be working with producers across the year to allow them to prepare and ensure the revived festival was "as relevant as possible" to them, he added.

'Missing piece'

In the wake of the cancellation, local traders began hosting their own events to showcase local food and crafts, including the Love Manx Festival at the Mountain View Innovation Centre last weekend and the Mann Made Festival in Douglas during the TT.

Speaking after the announcement, Barber said the department's decision not to run the showcase and move towards a series of events instead had aimed to "de-risk to some extent" the use of the budget, after numbers visiting dropped and poor weather further affected footfall in 2023.

She said while there had been "definite positives" to having a broader series of options to visit, it had been "clear" from feedback that the food and drink festival had been a "missing piece".

The new "more weatherproofed" venue would be a "key part" of the revamped fair, which Defa would "absolutely champion", the minister said.

Further details about the 2026 Isle of Man Food and Drink Festival are set to be announced at a later date.