The cookie tour is a fun and interactive activity designed for families with children. A self-guided walking tour that starts at the Festival heart on Parliament Street and ends at St. Crux Hall.
Participants receive a map/guide leaflet that includes questions about participating businesses in the area, providing a unique and engaging way for families to explore the local food and culture scene, while also having fun and learning new things along the way.
The tour stops at the Museum Gardens, where participants can take part in the Food Factory and ends at St Crux where a cookie can be decorated to take home.
You can either pre-book online or purchase your booklet at the information point.
Collection of the trail booklet is from the Information Point any day between 10am to 4pm, located opposite the Shambles Market Entrance on Parliament Street.
The York Food Festival offers a series of free cookery workshops, which are designed to provide visitors with an opportunity to learn new culinary skills and how food is made.
The workshops are open to all ages and held at the Museum Gardens, and St. Crux Hall.
Friday 22nd, from 3pm to 4pm
Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th, from 10am to 4pm
Monday 25th to Friday 29th, from 3pm to 4pm
(rest of the day reserved for school, where we welcome over 1000 children to participate over the 5 days)
Saturday 30th and Sunday 1st, from 10am to 4pm
At the minimum, there are six workshops available, covering a range of themes including bread making, pasta making, vegan dips, and smoking your own food. New workshop themes will be added in for 2023, ensuring that there is always something new to learn and discover at the festival.
The workshops are interactive and hands-on, providing participants with an opportunity to get involved in the cooking process and learn by doing. The workshops are suitable for all ages, and experienced instructors are on hand to provide guidance and support.
The York Food Festival is always on the lookout for talented volunteers to work with the public by delivering workshops. If you are someone who has a passion for cooking and wants to give back to the community, then we encourage you to consider volunteering with us. If interested, please fill out our online form
Did you know that the York Food Festival is a not-for-profit organisation?
Any money generated (from trader fees to ticket sales) goes back into the festival to improve it year after year.
During the festivals we run this extensive free food education programme for all visitors to the festival.
Please consider making a donation to support this programme and keep it running.
Facepainting, hair braiding and henna tattoos available with Fantastic Faces.
Owl Adventures provide birds of prey displays in Yorkshire for amazing flying shows and stimulating static displays
10:30am to 5pm daily, weather dependent
Nothing to do with Food and Drink! However if you are visiting the Museum Gardens to visit the Festival’s “Food Factory” this is an interesting additional attraction.
Cementing York’s reputation as one of the ghostliest cities in Europe, the York BID is bringing back Ghosts in The Gardens – and this year’s display promises to be the biggest yet as we are adding even more ghosts across the city.
Ghosts In The Gardens runs in Museum Gardens from 23rd Sept until 12 November 2023, from 9.00am to 6pm every day. Opening times for other venues vary – check online before visiting.
Kindly sponsored by Harrowells Solicitors. Ideally suited for children aged 1-5 years, but all welcome!
Tickets are FREE but must be prebooked due to limited spaces
This year the theme is HEALTHY EATING and we have the following fun planned:
Revitalise Your Health: Experience York Health Mela! Discover a vibrant celebration of well-being with diverse entertainment, free health checks, and more…
Discover a celebration of health and well-being like never before! The first York Health Mela awaits you, a spectacular showcase of the array of health and well-being services available right here in York. In these challenging times with services under pressure, knowledge of accessible care is vital. Our Mela fosters a partnership between providers, patients, and communities, ensuring everyone finds the right care at the right time.
The Mela offers a safe space to connect with providers and understand your options. Join us for a family-friendly day filled with diverse entertainers embracing our community’s richness. Together, let’s empower ourselves with knowledge and embrace a healthier tomorrow. We eagerly await your presence at this extraordinary event!
York Mela is a free event, and is open to anyone who wants to learn more, be entertained and meet new people as well as enjoy different music, art and food in the heart of York. The programme includes traditional displays of music/dance performance, with a range of stalls selling traditional food. York Health Mela appeals to all ages and races, with everyone welcome to come and enjoy the event in a relaxed atmosphere.
Make the most of these opportunities:
Health Exhibition, Free Health Checks and Advice, Bollywood dancer, Henna and Face painting for kids and more fun items including authentic food.
Join top bartenders from Impossible for some tips, tricks and of course some delicious samples of their best selling mocktails – perfect for any occasion and the ideal way to get your kids involved and making some delicious seasonal drinks that are perfect for the whole family.
Join us at Apple HQ to sample some of the wide range of apples that our Abundance York project volunteers have been picking in and around York, and explore orchard planted by the Leeman Park group at the junction of Water End and Salisbury Road.
You can wander around this young orchard which is now producing fruit. (There are plums, apples, pears and nut trees are on site here).
Optional donations will fund our Abundance Project that picks and distibutes apples to food banks and community projects across York.
We are also running an event in October half term at the Dormouse ancient orchard, please contact the email below for details.
This event is wheelchair accessible and there is limited disabled parking for visitors. Please make sure that children are accompanied at all times.
Facepainting, hair braiding and henna tattoos available with Fantastic Faces.
Located at St Crux Hall with some of our market traders each weekend of the festival, and the final destination for the Festival’s Cookie Tour
