Shrewsbury Food Festival scoops major festival of the year award
Shrewsbury's popular food festival has scooped a major regional award.
Local events business, Shropshire Festivals, won the Tourism Event/Festival of the Year at the 2026 West Midlands Tourism Awards for its flagship event – Shrewsbury Food Festival.
It is the third year running that the Shropshire business has scooped gold at the awards.
Shrewsbury Food Festival, which takes place in The Quarry, has become an annual fixture in the town's calendar.
The event, which takes place across two days on the last weekend in June, champions local independent producers, chefs, performers, and businesses.
The festival hosts around 200 food, drink, and homeware exhibitors, chef demonstrations, a kids’ cookery school, a live music stage, a family entertainment stage, a field to fork area, VIP tent, corporate party tipis, and a whole area of free kids' activities.
The awards from Visit England, celebrate the accomplishments of tourism businesses across the West Midlands region and promote the venues, people, experiences, and accommodation in the region.
They are supported by the West Midlands Tourism and Hospitality Advisory Board (THAB) and the West Midlands Growth Company.
Shropshire Festivals’ owners, Beth and Sid Heath, collected their award on March 16 at The Belfry Hotel & Spa.
Beth said she was thrilled at the accolade and thanked all the people who help make the events what they are.
She said: “I cannot put into words just how proud I am of this award. So much goes into building a festival that most people don't see - time, effort, planning, and money, plus a fair amount of blood, sweat and tears - all driving Shrewsbury Food Festival forward for the last 13 years. I'm so proud to work with such a brilliant team that made the dream a reality.
“In the last week, Shropshire Festivals has joined the call to change how the Met Office reports weather over a 24 hour period. So, to start my day advocating for the tourism sector on BBC Shropshire, and to end it in a room with the West Midlands brightest tourism stars, collecting the Festival of the Year award, is a pretty great day in the office!
“Thanks to our hard-working team, plus every exhibitor, supplier, staff member, volunteer, sponsor, visitor, performer, chef, and the many unofficial ambassadors who shout about what we do at Shropshire Festivals. We’re a small, family-run team that genuinely does this to spread smiles. Recognition on this level means a great deal.”
Shrewsbury Food Festival is taking place on June 27 and 28 this year and tickets are available to purchase online.
For more information about the event visit www.shrewsburyfoodfestival.co.uk.
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.