A food and drink festival featuring a host of independent traders is making its return to the Greater Manchester town of Bury for a second year this weekend. Bury Food and Drink Festival is back and it’s expected to be bigger and better for 2025, with over 70 traders taking over the town centre.
Organised by Bury BID, the Bury Food & Drink Festival is a free town centre celebration of food, drink, and local culture — created in partnership with Bury Market and Bury Council, and part-funded with Local Growth & Place Flexible Grant Funding. Taking place from Friday 18th July to Sunday 20th July, the three-day festival will feature a huge Hong Kong Market at Kay Gardens, a brand new ‘beer and bands’ night on Bank Street and a programme of activities within some of the town’s fantastic food and drink businesses.
Nigel Shields, Town Centre Director at Bury BID said: “It’s a pleasure to be announcing the return of the Bury Food and Drink Festival to the town centre, and to be able to build on the success of last year’s event. We’ve got an exciting and diverse range of local, authentic traders joining us, showcasing the very best flavours and cuisine from Bury and all over the world. The festival is a fantastic addition to our town and what it has to offer – we can’t wait to welcome guests from far and wide across the weekend!”
What to expect at Bury Food and Drink Festival
Beers and Band on Bank Street
The weekend kicks off on Friday 18th July with Beers and Band on Bank Street from 6pm- 9.30pm, showcasing great local brews and bands with real Bury flavour. A totally free event, the street will be closed for the evening and given over to live local talent and brilliant Bury brews. The line up includes up and coming local talent Urban Theory, Sky Valley Mistress and Shoehorn.
Hong Kong Market at Kay Gardens
On Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th July, the unique Hong Kong Markets will be taking over Kay Gardens, offering vibrant Asian street food and culture from the Hong Kong region and beyond. Organised by Moliuliu’s Store, a Hong Kong grocery store in Bury Market, visitors can expect an eclectic mix of food, gifts, jewellery and craft items. It’s the perfect place to celebrate Manchester’s Hong Kong community and introduce people to all the amazing flavours and cuisine from the region.
Bury Food and Drink Festival markets and live music at The Rock
Meanwhile the Bury Food and Drink Festival markets will be taking over The Rock with over 70 food, drink, and craft traders expected to bring a huge and diverse range of artisan produce, local flavours and global cuisine to the area. Visitors can browse an array of delicious creamy and crumbly fudge from The Finest Fudge Co, enjoy the authentic flavours of Thailand from The Thai Food Van, or make the most of Sip & Sparkle’s Prosecco and Gin Bar.
The festival main stage will be situated at The Rock too, by Bob and Bert’s, so visitors can hang out for a full day of incredible food all to a soundtrack of fantastic live music from the likes of ukulele band Uky Bobs, samba band Bloco Ashe, Joan and the Wad and acoustic duo Celebratory Cake.
Bury Market
Bury Market will be open on Friday from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm and Saturday from 9am to 5 pm during the Bury Food and Drink Festival weekend, so festival-goers can stop by and experience all that the award-winning market has to offer. Boasting over 350 independent traders across its outdoor aisles and Fish and Meat Hall, expect an authentic, local market experience with everything from freshly baked cakes, pastries and pies to fresh fruit and vegetable, locally sourced fish, artisan cheese and Bury black pudding.
Events at local Bury businesses
Bury Food and Drink Festival is also a chance to sample some of the town’s brilliant hospitality scene. Visitors can expect pasta-making classes at The Met with the team behind Pasta Ferrazza on July 19th, DJ sessions at Daily Grind on Sunday 20th July, and live music on the terrace at West Ivy running throughout the weekend.
How to get to Bury Food and Drink Festival
The best way to get to the festival is via public transport. The festival is located right by Bury Interchange where you can get buses and trams to and from Manchester city centre. Bury also has a number of car parks available including ones at The Rock and Mill Gate Shopping Centre.
For more information about Bury Food and Drink Festival 2025, head to the website here.
