PRESTEIGNE is to get a new bank holiday event with a Festival of Food and Flowers in May organised and funded by the Presteigne Area Business Network.

Planned for Monday, May 7, the festival will see the beautiful streets in the centre of Presteigne lined with stalls hand picked to showcase the wide variety of local food and drink producers.

Visitors will be able to stock up on plants for their own gardens and visit secret gardens in and out of town, many of them never usually open to the public.

There will be a corner dedicated to street food, an all-day barbecue, live music and fun for the entire family with rolling programme of entertainments, talks and competitions, a brocante and art exhibition, plus a pop-up pub selling organic beers and wines will be open throughout the evening.

Setting the scene on Sunday evening, May 6, will be a special four-course fundraising feast showcasing the delicious flavours of Italian citrus and inspired by the bestselling book “The Land Where Lemons Grow” written by the author Helena Attlee who lives locally.

Tickets. priced £35, are only available in The Salty Dog in High Street, Presteigne. at thesaltydogpresteigne@hotmail.co.uk, or call 01544 267720.

Live music on an Italian theme will be played by Richard Gooderson and John Hymas and Helena Attlee will provide a brief introduction to each course.

“Most people use the occasional dash of lemon juice or grated orange peel, but this dinner will inspire you to be more adventurous, and introduce you to all sorts of new ways to use citrus in the kitchen. Cooked and masterminded by Leon Abecasis of the Salty Dog in Presteigne, it will also be absolutely delicious, of course,” said Helena.

“Presteigne has a long history of producing flowers. The town used to be famous for daffodils, because over 470 different varieties were bred here for the first time. Alec Wilson was the most important of the four daffodil breeders who lived in and around Presteigne over the years, and he also ran a commercial cut flower business, sending bunches of flowers in wooden crates on the overnight train to Paddington from Presteigne. The closure of the Presteigne branch line in 1964 put an end to the town’s daffodil industry.

“The house where I live on the edge of town used to be a farm, with fields running down to the River Lugg. They used to grow cut flowers here, as well as apples and soft fruit to send to the market in Birmingham by train,” said Helena. '

The new festival will feature free admission and free parking. to add to its attractions.