WITH a background in events and involvement in one of the major food events of the year, Will Jenkins and Brandon Kirk have got a good head start for launching their very own event.

Now they are busy putting together Brightlingsea’s first ever food festival which will take place over the August bank Holiday weekend.

Both men live in Brightlingsea and felt there was a real need for an event of this kind there.

As well as basing the festival on home turf, they also explain they have made a commitment to recruiting all the staff and equipment from the Colchester postcode area and they have also offered reduced rates to Brightlingsea-based companies.

Will explains: “I work in events for Colchester Council so I have got a lot of experience from that side of things and Brandon also works in events too.

“And we felt it was a good time now to put something on ourselves.

“We are both food lovers and we both live in Brightlingsea so it seemed a good place to start for our event,” says Will.

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Having attended the Colchester Food and Drink Festival and worked with its organiser Don Quinn, they have been benefiting from his expertise and experience in the organisation of the bank holiday event.

“Don has been really supportive and will actually be running one of the bars, the Prosecco and Pimms one.

“He has been giving us lots of advice which has been really nice because we were a little bit concerned how they were going to take it because it is a similar event to theirs albeit at a different time of the year.

“But they could not have been nicer or more supportive and there is no rivalry as the Colchester event is in June and this is right at the end of the summer. There is room for both of them.”

And the two friends, working together as J & K Events, have drawn together a whole host of food and drink producers as well as street food vendors, art and crafters for the festival.

There will also be three bars with a beer and cider marquee lined up alongside the Gin Rummy trailer, serving gin and rum cocktails, and the Prosecco and Pimms bar.

Street food will include Syrian cuisine, Chinese delicacies, middle eastern and a host of dishes from around the world.

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“We really think there is the potential for this to become and annual event.

“It is something Brightlingsea can really benefit from and it is in a perfect location down on the front,” adds Will.

The Brightlingsea Food Festival takes place on Saturday August 26, between 11am and 6pm, and again on Sunday August 27, from 11am until 5pm when admission will be £2.50, free to those under 14.

Will and Brandon are also holding an appetiser launch night on the Friday night, August 25, when the bars will be open and there will be live music.

“We wanted to put something on which would give people an idea of what to expect from the festival, a sort of introduction really.

“So there will be a small selection of what’s to come over the weekend and the bars will be open too.

“The evening is free to attend as well so we hope lots of people come along and then come back over the weekend.

“We also have a bank holiday the day after the event finishes so we hope that will really be in our favour too.

“And because we have marquees people can either escape from the sun into the shade, or go in there if there is a rain shower !” he adds.