With a brand-new location, an exciting line-up of chefs and performers, and a fresh focus on making the experience affordable and accessible for all, the Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival is set to be one of the biggest and best summer events in the North.
In this exclusive Q&A, Jon Arrowsmith, founder of Cocker Hoop Creative Ltd, shares the vision behind this year’s festival. From its move to Aireville Park in Skipton and its commitment to supporting local suppliers, to its extensive programme of masterclasses, music acts, and family-friendly entertainment, Jon gives a flavour of what visitors can expect and why this summer’s festival is shaping up to be the best one yet!
Inside the 2025 Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival with Jon Arrowsmith
The festival is returning to Skipton this summer, but in a new location. What can people expect from the setting at Aireville Park?
We’ve done our absolute best to make sure that everyone that comes along, young or old, walks away with a great memory of the festival. Whether they’re a foodie and want to eat their way around the traders, they love great music and want to bop along while sipping on a Cuba Libre next to their pals, or even fancy learning a new culinary skill, we’ve got something for everyone in Aireville Park.
For anyone thinking about coming along for the first time, what would you say makes the Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival stand out from other summer events?
We’ve made this year’s festival a little bit different from others, with tons of free activities for the whole family to enjoy. With a lot of festivals, visitors are charged, charged and then charged some more, but we want to make sure those that come in from 10 am until 11 pm get more bang for their buck!
There’s a packed schedule this year with demos from chefs like James Martin and Rosemary Shrager. What kind of food and cooking experiences will people be able to enjoy over the weekend?
We have a host of cookery schools, masterclasses, BBQ schools and workshops taking place this year – there are three cookery theatres each hosting eight demonstrations every day – so whether visitors are cooking novices or culinary whizzes, there’s something for everyone to take part in to help improve their skills.
The festival is running more than 1,000 free masterclasses this year. What kinds of sessions are planned, and how can people get involved in those?
We have all the classes you’d expect like chocolate and gin masterclasses, but we are also ramping it up with workshops on how to cook fish and fruit on BBQs, learn how to make risotto and pasta from scratch and so much more!
There’s a strong focus on supporting local producers this year. How have you worked with regional businesses to bring them into the festival?
We are passionately committed to supporting local producers for the festival, so much so that we’re been working closely with Skipton BID to identify as many regional suppliers as possible, to provide them with a platform to showcase their skills and products. We have local fishmongers, butchers and coffee shops on the festival’s bill, just to name but a few.
There’s plenty on offer for families throughout the weekend. Are there any new experiences or highlights this year that families should be excited about?
The fact that all masterclasses are free should be hugely appealing to families’ purse strings! There’s lots and lots of fun educational activities to take part in, and it’s all included in the cost of the ticket.
There’s a new GBBO tent featuring familiar faces from the show. What kind of activities or demos will be happening there?
All of the Bake Off guys are like our own little family and we know whether it’s a cheese scone (my personal fave!) or a Victoria sponge, visitors get to watch the cook up delicious bakes, all the while finding out more about their personal journey to becoming baking superstars.
Music plays a big role in the festival. What kind of acts and performances can people expect throughout the weekend, and what atmosphere are you hoping to create?
We’ve got such a spectacular, varied music line-up across the weekend. From The Feeling, Keala Settle and the Ibiza Proms with The Limelight Orchestra on the Friday and 80s icons Go West on the Saturday, to Sister Sledge and the legend that is Tony Christie on the Sunday, there really is something for everyone.
With lots of food stalls, street vendors and producers on site, how wide is the choice when it comes to food and drink, and is there something for a range of tastes and budgets?
We know that money is tight for everyone at the moment, so one of the main focuses for us has been to offer a fun, immersive, family-focused festival that people can come along to and have a memorable day out, without breaking the bank.
From pickles to pies, cheese to churros, spirits to sun hats, I think we have one of the best, most varied arrays of traders to suit everyone’s tastes and price points.
Festivals often come with unpredictable weather. Are there indoor or sheltered areas people can retreat to if needed?
The park will have lots of marquees to take shelter if mother nature doesn’t play ball and the bars are under the cover too, so visitors can still enjoy a tipple if the heavens should open.
Accessibility is an important issue for many. What steps are being taken to ensure the festival site is easily accessible for everyone?
We’ve carried out extensive work on the accessibility of the festival, as we want to make sure that everyone can come along and enjoy the event. The entire site has been meticulously assessed to ensure that people with mobility challenges can navigate around the festival with ease.
With a large number of visitors expected across the weekend, how is parking being organised to help avoid congestion in and around Skipton?
We have created a robust traffic management plan to minimise impact across the weekend. No parking will be permitted along the roads by the park or by local residences, and this restriction will be strictly enforced. What’s more, we’ve been clearly communicating instructions for getting to and parking at the festival via all of our communications to visitors, including our social media channels, so everyone is aware of the dos and don’ts when it comes to travelling to the festival.
Ticket pricing is a big consideration for many visitors. Can you talk a bit about how the pricing works and how people can get the best value?
We took an early stance on this and reduced the price of the tickets for camping and for general admission, as we want the festival to be an affordable, accessible event that can be enjoyed by many – essentially, we want our visitors to get the best value for money as possible. We have a tiered ticket system, with prices as follows:
- Standard adult day ticket (Friday) – £20
- Standard child day ticket (Friday) – £10
- Standard adult day ticket (Saturday or Sunday) – £24
- Standard child day ticket (Saturday or Sunday) – £13
- Standard adult weekender ticket – £50
- Standard family day ticket – £60
- Standard family weekender ticket – £120
- Standard cookery show ticket – £38
- Car parking pass – £5
- Bronze tent camping – £75 (was £94.31 in 2024)
- Silver tent camping – £90 (was £104.96 in 2024)
Accessibility to the festival location seems good, being close to the town centre. Do you see this as a benefit for both visitors and local businesses?
This festival weekend has been designed so that a large proportion of festival goers pass through Skipton town centre, driving footfall for local businesses and tourism spots.
The festival has grown into one of the UK’s biggest food events. How have you kept it exciting for returning visitors while still welcoming new ones?
This year’s festival is all about coming together to create unforgettable moments of joy, connection and celebration. While the festival was great in previous years, we’re carrying the baton forward to create a must-visit event for the region.
There is nothing like the Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival in the north of England, and with prices starting from just £20 for a Friday day-ticket, it is also the best value. We are giving away 1000 FREE masterclasses and cookery demos across the weekend, from cheese and wine masterclasses to children’s chocolate masterclass. There’s something for everyone!
Looking ahead, how do you see the festival evolving in future years?
The Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival is a staple in the North’s summer social calendar and we’re really excited to build the event into a must-attend festival for everyone in the UK over the coming years!
We’re already talking about music acts for 2026, so let’s see what happens! But we know everyone is going to love what we have planned. Tickets for the Yorkshire Dales Food & Drink Festival start from £20, head to www.ydfadfw.com to purchase and for more information on the north’s festival of the summer.
