Taste of Cavan could set new record
With excess of 38,500 enjoying last year’s food extravaganza, one of the Taste of Cavan organisers says that “no one would be surprised” if this year’s event smashes the attendance record once again. If so, it would be the fifth-year in a row of such an achievement.
Conor Harrington of Cavan County Council’s tourism section said: “If you take it from the first TOC when it had maybe just over 40 stalls, and not even a huge crowd expected, in 2016 it’s grown to nearly 130 stalls and maybe 40,000-plus people. The event has grown each year exponentially, and we hope to continue that.”
Conor says the success of TOC shows the massive appetite out there for experiences in which all the family can get involved.
“It’s incredible the interest that is there for local food, Cavan produce, and also produce from the surrounding areas. It’s a festival that has taken on regional and even national significance at this stage.”
Through its many indigenous businesses, from food producers to farmers, and restaurants headed by star chefs, Cavan has enjoyed rave reviews helping to develop the county brand and boost visitor numbers.
“If you take social media for instance over the past year, because of Taste of Cavan, the word Cavan has been seen online more than one and a half million times. That is phenomenal, and in terms of enforcing a positive perception of Cavan as a destination, as a place where quality food comes from, it has been invaluable,” says Conor.
He credits not only the support of major names within the county such as Blacklion’s Neven Maguire and the Olde Post Inn’s Gearoid Lynch, but the army of local volunteers too who have weighed in to support TOC.
‘Very lucky’
“We have been very lucky in many ways to be able to capitalise on the profile of people like Neven and others, but there have been many others who have played a major part, like the IFA and ICA, Bord Bia, and of course we’ve been very lucky that sponsors like Ulster Bank, Supervalu and Fáilte Ireland have come on board and allowed us to build the event into what it is today.”
This year’s TOC will see Cavan Town once again play a central role in hosting the festival, and among the highlights between the free ferry to and from the Equestrian Centre venue will be Castletara’s Áine Cahill performing at the Market Square, 3pm on Saturday, August 14, the inaugural ‘Let’s Tri Cavan Sprint Triathlon’ in Killykeen, August 13 and much, much more.
At TOC itself, there are plenty of activities aside from the exhibition stands and cookery demos, including live entertainment and a free kid’s zone complete with gian obstacle course and slide, face-painting, fossil hunting, Lego workshop, 1916 exhibition, an IFA pet farm, and teddy-bear workshops. Taste of Cavan runs on Friday-Saturday, August 12-13, admission is €5, and children U12 go free.
“We produce top quality food, that is exported all over the world, is used by top chefs in kitchen and in homes each and every day. The whole idea of ‘This is Cavan’ as a brand was to build on the confidence generated by hosting successive Fleadhanna, and that feeling of county pride. TOC has done that, and it’s clear people believe Cavan, and the food that is produced here is something worth shouting about and to be proud of,” he added.