A POPULAR food festival is returning to Northallerton at the end of June.

Now in its eighth year, the Northallerton Homegrown Food Festival will take place in Applegarth Park on Sunday, June 30.

Over the course of the festival there will be a range of live music and entertainment with two stages during the day as well as demonstrations by local chefs and family-friendly activities.

The festival's theme is 'Getting Drastic on Plastic’ which will include an eco-inspired area for visitors to learn more about how to reduce, re-use and recycle.

There will also be several art-inspired workshops on the festival park as well as a theatre and cookery workshops for children.

The free event takes place from 10am to 5pm and there will also be free parking available.

Refreshments will be on sale throughout the day at the Tipple Tent, with food and drink produced by local brewers and suppliers.

The Festival is organised by volunteers from the Homegrown Food Group, which aims to raise awareness of and celebrate local produce.

Simon Bailes Peugeot is sponsoring the event again and one of the organisers, Sally Anderson, said: “We are happy to be working with Simon Bailes again this year, to bring this free family friendly event to the town.

"It's an inspiration to be working with businesses and local people alike to create such a special atmosphere with visitors receiving a great homegrown welcome from our team of volunteers. It’s a great experience and many volunteers come back year after year but we always welcome new faces.”

Simon Bailes, CEO of Simon Bailes Peugeot, said: “We are proud and delighted to be supporting the festival again this year, which has continued to grow in popularity and has established itself as one of the town’s flagship community events.

"It is the ideal platform for people to learn more about the products and local produce that is prepared and available on our doorstep, together with plenty of entertainment enjoyed over the course of the day.”