Annual food festival in Limerick cancelled after seven years due to 'resource challenges'

LIMERICK Food Group has announced that they will not be running one annual harvest food and culture festival due to “resource challenges”.

After seven years of presenting Limerick’s annual Pigtown Festival, Limerick Food Group “regrets to announce” that they will not be running it this month. 

In a statement,  Limerick Food Group, a project led by chef Tom Flavin, former executive chef of the Strand Hotel, and Limerick City and County councillor Olivia O’Sullivan, said that they are “very disappointed”.

“We informed Limerick City and County Council and Failte Ireland in March 2023 that we could not keep the festival going, due to resource challenges in our reduced volunteer committee,” the statement reads. 

“We were asked to try to deliver a festival for 2023 if possible, and we did that, stretching our small volunteer team, holding a successful Pigtown weekend with the understanding that the Council was going to take it on this year in 2024.”

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However, the Limerick Food Group did reach out to Limerick City and County Council in the spring of this year.

“Less than two weeks out from the festival weekend”, the Council informed the group that the street theatre company in discussion to run the Pigtown Parade had withdrawn. 

“No work had taken place to date on programming the food element of the festival. Resource issues were cited, with all resources being diverted elsewhere in the preceding period,” the statement reads. 

“This was very disappointing to hear as Limerick Food Group, with our small committee of volunteers, has delivered the Pigtown Food and Culture Festival every autumn in Limerick for the last seven years - including stringing a festival together during a global pandemic.”

Despite this, there will be alternative foodie events on Culture Night this Friday, September 20, and over the weekend, taking place at the Milk Market and at Treaty City. 

Little Pigtown at the Milk Market will take place from 5pm to 8pm on Culture Night this Friday. 

Additionally, a cooking demo with Chef George Casey on will be held at the Milk Market on Saturday at 10.30am, and The Art of Pigtown art fair will take place on Sunday from 11am to 4pm, featuring 35 stalls by local artists and crafters.

Treaty City is also still holding its Culture Night event this Friday from 6pm to 10pm, featuring Dan Sykes from Springfield Castle and Chef Keith Pigott using local producers from the Limerick Food and Drinks Producer Directory, launched this year by Limerick Food Group.