Mayo Food producers showcasing at Bord Bia Bloom
Ireland’s favourite festival of flowers, food and fun, Bord Bia Bloom returns to the Phoenix Park, Dublin, on June Bank Holiday weekend, Thursday to Monday, June 1 to 5.
It will showcase another vibrant mix of thought-provoking show gardens, delicious local food, and interactive entertainment for visitors of all ages.
Mayo food producers, Achill Island Sea Salt and Velvet Cloud from Claremorris, will be among those featured at this year’s event.
At the centrepiece of Bord Bia Bloom a total of 22 small, medium, and large show gardens and feature gardens will provide a colourful demonstration of the latest trends and innovations in garden design.
Bord Bia expect to welcome more than 100,000 visitors to the show over five action-packed days.
Speaking at the launch of this year’s event, Jim O’Toole, CEO, Bord Bia said, “Bord Bia Bloom was created to offer a world-class, uplifting and engaging showcase for Irish horticulture, food and drink.
"Now in its 17th year, the show provides an invaluable platform to highlight important societal issues such as climate change, sustainable production and health and wellbeing.
"We are proud to see how Bloom has evolved into a unique festival experience, with nature and sustainable living at its heart, while also continuing to offer our horticulture, food and drink clients the opportunity to showcase their latest products and innovations.”
Postcard Gardens
Along with a dazzling display of show gardens, gardening enthusiasts will find plenty of inspiration in the ever-popular ‘Postcard Gardens’, which include nine small but perfectly formed pop-up gardens that are designed and built by community groups, schools, and training groups from across Ireland.
There will also be five days of gardening talks, a bustling Nursery Village featuring some of Ireland's leading nurseries, floral displays from the Ireland’s finest floral artists and a botanical art exhibition.
Food Glorious Food
New to the event this year is the introduction of the Funky Food Fleet which will bring a collection of Ireland’s tastiest food trucks to the festival for the first time.
Attendees will have the opportunity to sample delicious fare from Salty Buoy, Los Chicanos, Hot Potato, Bahay, Ten10 Toasties/Acai Bowl, Vegan Thanks Plants, Dash Coffee, All Bar Chicken, Ciao Cannoli, Tortilla and Food Cloud.
The Quality Kitchen Stage at the centre of the Food Village will once again host live cookery demonstrations from some of Ireland’s leading chefs including Neven Maguire, Catherine Fulvio, Rory O’Connell, Fiona Uyema, JP McMahon, Edward Hayden, Brian McDermott and Shane Smith, along with interviews with more than 40 Irish food producers.
In the redesigned Food Hall and the popular Bloom Inn, over 100 Irish food and drink companies – including Achill Island Sea Salt and Velvet Cloud - will showcase their produce and many companies will use the opportunity to launch new and exciting food and drink products.
Achill Island Sea Salt will be among the products showcased.
This family business was set up in 2013 with the aim of restoring a long-forgotten tradition of sea salt production on Achill Island.
The Irish Farmhouse Cheese stand will feature Velvet Cloud’s range of handmade cheeses.
Velvet Cloud provides a range of natural sheep’s yogurt and cheese and is made on the family farm, just outside of Claremorris.
There is also plenty to do for all the family with live entertainment on the Main Stage, while the ‘Budding Bloomers’ area promises to keep children engaged and entertained with willow weaving, planting games, toddler play area and much more!
RTÉjr will also be central to this space with daily storytelling, a kids disco and magic shows.
Finally, RTÉ Lyric FM is back for with what is shaping up to be their biggest presence to date with great music, Lyric FM favourites and exclusive events for Bloom visitors.
Tickets
Tickets are on sale now on BordBiaBloom.com priced from €25 per person and two children under 16 can attend for free with every adult ticket purchased.