1 June 2011
Cultures from across the globe came together this weekend for a packed line up of activities for the first Eastbourne Fiesta, including a live cookery demonstration from Masterchef winner Peter Bayless in Food Theatre and a mass zumba session to warm visitors up.
Despite the cooler weather on Saturday, crowds gathered on the Western Lawns to be dazzled by the winner of the 2006 series of BBC Masterchef as he demonstrated a Greek dish of keftedes me kritheraki, spiced meatballs in a rich, fresh tomato sauce with rice-shaped pasta, crumbled feta and herbs.
Eastbourne restaurant Printers Bar were up next in Food Theatre, with Head Chef Jason Peter Menzies demonstrating how to cook with Hot Rocks, a speciality on the brasserie’s menu, while chefs from The Langham Hotel and Thai Terre also whipped up a storm in front of visitors over the weekend.
Eastbourne Borough Council Cabinet Member for Tourism, Cllr Neil Stanley said “The first ever Eastbourne Fiesta really was a fantastic festival of fusion and fun that had something for everyone. It was brilliant to see so many people come together to represent cultures from across the globe and we were delighted to work alongside Eastbourne Cultural Communities Network to offer visitors something a bit different. From Bollywood dancing to zumba, and from a mini beer festival to a mini Pride, Eastbourne seafront was a hive of cultural activity!”
A huge outdoor zumba session took place on Saturday morning with dozens of visitors lined up on the Western Lawns to jump about for the new fitness craze sweeping across Eastbourne.
Bands took to the stage on Saturday and Sunday to present a varied soundtrack of musical influences from all over the world, including Ragati String Band, Pentacle Drummers, a Russian Choir, Dub and Stuff, Filipino singing and more!
The mini Beer Festival offered real ale lovers an early taster for the popular Eastbourne Beer Festival coming up in October, with 20 real ales, 6 cider lines and wine and Pimms to choose from, with visitors invited to vote for their favourite tipple for the chance to win tickets to October’s bigger event. The Beer of Fiesta went to the aptly named Ramsgate Seasider.
The weekend’s festivities were boosted further by the Italia in Piazza market on Sunday and Monday extending the culinary offer with a range of stalls selling authentic Italian produce from across the continent, while the Jaguar South Downs Run finished in Eastbourne on Sunday with a display of over 80 jaguars from E Types to the latest models.
Visitors who went to Fiesta are encouraged to upload their photos from the event to the VisitEastbourne facebook page for the chance to win a Sony Cyber-shot Digital Camera thanks to Comet Eastbourne.
For more information on what’s on in Eastbourne go to the VisitEastbourne website or call 0871 663 0031.
