Surbiton Food Festival 2025
4th may- 17th may
Celebrating all that’s good in local food, drink and creativity
Welcome Back!
The Surbiton Food Festival is a three-fold celebration of place,
produce and people. For 2025 we’re running this across three weekends with three showcase events:
The Seething Freshwater Sardine Festival on 4th May; The Village Fete and Community Sports Day on 10th May; and The Mini Moments Festival on 17th May.
The Surbiton Food Festival is a way for local businesses and the community to come together to see what Surbiton has to offer in terms of food, drink and friendship. From the fine dining restaurateur to the budding home chef; whether you want to learn the techniques of your local bakery, or share the secrets of your nan’s chutney recipe, the Surbiton Food Festival is the place for you to show off yourself, your business and your produce in a fun and inclusive atmosphere.
events
the seething freshwater Sardine festival
SUNDAY, 4th May, 12 PM – 5 PM
Celebrate the ancient tradition of sardine fishing in the River Thames in Surbiton.
Since sardines were once again introduced to the river in 2005, local people have celebrated the capture of this magical food with a festival.
Come to enjoy bands and entertainment all day, delicious fresh food and drink stalls to keep everyone refreshed. At 2pm a procession takes us to the river to watch the haul of the sardines, which are loaded onto a cart and pulled back by the Giant Guinea Pigs of Seething to the famous Sardine BBQ.
PROGRAMME at THE SARDINE FESTIVAL
12.00pm – 5:00pm: Food, stalls, entertainment & charity bar at Claremont Gardens
2:00pm – Procession from Claremont Gardens
2:30pm – The famous sardine catch at Queen’s Promenade by Raven’s Ait island
2:45pm – Sardine procession from Queen’s Promenade to Claremont Gardens
3:15 – Sardine BBQ at Claremont Gardens
VILLAGE FETE, COMMUNITY SPORTS DAY & DOG SHOW
SATURDAY 10th May 11 AM – 4.30 PM
As part of the Surbiton Food Festival, come along to this combined event – our Village Fete & Community Sports Day including the Fun Dog Show on May 10th in Victoria Recreation Ground.
The event will feature traditional sports day races such as egg and spoon, sack race and three-legged race.
A fun dog show will also take place alongside live music, community picnics, food stalls and a charity bar run by The Lamb, Surbiton.
It all kicks off at 11am. Enter your four-legged friend for one or more of the following categories:
Golden Oldie
Waggiest Tail
Best Trick
Dog that looks most like its owner
Prettiest Lady
Most Handsome Dog
Best Rescue
Judges’ Choice
PROGRAMME at THE VILLAGE FETE & SPORTS DAY
11:00 Fun Dog Show
12:00 Community Sports Day races
12:00 – 16:30 Stalls, live music
The Community Brain invites you to a spectacular day of family friendly activity this spring. Celebrate the ingenuity of John Cooper, the triumph of the Mini Cooper at the Monte Carlo Rally of ‘64, and wider stories of innovation and cutting edge design in Surbiton.
Featuring:
- Over 150 Minis through the ages (including the winning Monte Carlo Rally car)
- Live music programmed by The Basement Door
- Tours of the garage where John Cooper was based
- Screening of The Italian Job
- New ‘Mini’ films from Kingston College & Kingston University
- Food and Drink
- Crafts
- A ‘Mini Monte’ drive through the streets of Kingston
- Vintage London bus
Celebrate your favourite decade of fashion and come dressed to impress!
PROGRAMME at THE MINI MOMENTS FESTIVAL
tbc
Get involved
Our aim is to make the festival bigger and better each year and would love to work with you and offer you and your business the chance to get involved in a variety of ways.
The deadline for applications is 26th April. Any applications received after this date may not be included in advertising but we’ll do our best to accommodate events or stall requests.
We strictly prioritise local businesses for all events.
If you would like to volunteer, please email info@surbitonfoodfestival.org, or turn up at any of our events a couple of hours before they’re due to start. It’s a fun way of meeting local people and making friends, while helping local businesses and bringing your town to life. In addition to the Food Festival, we also run many other events and initiatives throughout the year.
become a sponsor
We can tailor-make a sponsorship option for you. The main sponsors are on the front page of the website, promoted on social media and mentioned at the events.
There are many ways you can get involved in Surbiton Food Festival. Here are a few of the ways you can do so:
– Sponsor the Festival
– Have your business promoted in our social media posts
– Donate a raffle prize
There will be 10,000 leaflets printed and distributed. Supporter logos should be submitted via the online application form, be in jpg format and no more than 1mb. If design work is required, this service can be provided at an extra cost.
become a trader
Now is the time to secure your place as a stallholder, demonstrator or event organiser. If you wish to trade during any of our three major weekend events, please fill in the application form and return before 26th April.
This is a fantastic way for you to get out and about and introduce your business to new faces. As with previous years, celebrations will be spread over three flagship weekend events.
You are able to have a stall at all or just some of these events.
Requests for stalls are coming in thick fast, so act quickly to secure your spot by filling the application form.
A stall allocation provides a 3x3m space. You are responsible for providing your own gazebo and furniture. Power is available on Fete days at an extra charge. Please select this option on your application form if required.
volunteer
To us SFF is about much more than food – it is about the joy of friendship, laughter, creativity and play. Each year we tend to make the Surbiton Food Festival to be bigger than ever, and there is plenty of fun and rewarding work to be done.
Can you be involved in the planning and running of the festival?
We are also looking for volunteers for the following: Marking out pitches, setting up the sites (bunting, staging, bins, electricity etc), marshalling, and lots lots more.
If you are able to help in any way, please state which days you are able to help out and what you would like to do.
If you would like to volunteer to help out at any of the events, please email info@surbitonfoodfestival.org with the words: “SFF: I want to volunteer” in the subject line.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
big thanks to our supporters
Surbiton Food Festival 2023 | All Rights Reserved
Website: Simply Inspired Business
Hosting: Loz Archer
Photos: Tangle