From headline music acts to celebrating watercress in all its glory, Hampshire will be playing host to some of the UK’s very best festivals in 2023.
With a year-round line-up of top events – and early bird tickets already on sale – the county is promising a feast of festivals for music aficionados, food fans, and culture creatures.
Among returning highlights are a day dedicated to watercress, including a watercress eating competition, and the UK’s longest running festival of outdoor arts, plus a show celebrating British eccentricity at its best.
Launching the season of major events will be Alresford Watercress Festival on 21 May 2023. The Georgian town of Alresford, with its colour-washed houses, is known as Hampshire’s ‘Capital of Watercress’ for being at the heart of the UK’s watercress farming. Each May it plays host to a nationally acclaimed food festival to celebrate the leaf vegetable, which has been grown commercially in Hampshire since the 19th century. Along with food and drink stalls, it also includes a watercress munching championship (www.watercressfestival.org).
Also making a welcome return is the ultimate festival for dogs, dog owners, and dog fans, when Dogstival takes centre stage at Broadlands Park, Romsey (3 – 4 June 2023). Dubbed the ‘coolest dog show in town’ it promises a summer of love as a celebration of all things canine (https://dogstival.co.uk).
The Broadlands Estate in Romsey also provides the new setting for The Nostalgia Show, which rolls into the county again during the summer offering ‘British eccentricity at its best’, 16 – 18 June 2023, from classic cars and retro fashion to nostalgic music (www.thenostalgiashow.com).
For the country’s longest running outdoor arts festival – and perhaps most unusually named event – Winchester is the place to be from 30 June until 2 July 2023. The Winchester Hat Fair started as a busking festival, taking its name from audiences putting money in a hat, but now delivers “the art of the unexpected” through outdoor street performances and live music. The family friendly festival takes place across the historic city (www.hatfair.co.uk).
Not surprisingly for a county with a rich food and drink heritage, two annual events are set to draw the crowds once more. Lymington Seafood Festival (14 – 16 July) brings together artisan food and drink producers, along with live music, with around 80 stalls lining the picturesque coastal town’s streets (www.lymingtonseafoodfestival.co.uk).
For a celebration of Hampshire’s growing role as a top wine producing region, annual English midsummer picnic Fizzfest (23 July) is held in a different vineyard each year. For 2023, England’s oldest commercial vineyard, Hambledon, will host the event, where visitors can sample over 20 sparkling and still wines originating from the county’s soil.
And for music fans, two of the biggest festivals are back. Boomtown (9 – 13 August), staged on the outskirts of Winchester, is now one of the top events on the national and international festival circuit, celebrating every musical genre (www.boomtownfair.co.uk). Meanwhile, Victorious (25 – 27 August) takes place on the stunning Southsea Seafront in the maritime city of Portsmouth and not only features music, but also children’s entertainment and activities, comedy, food and real ale (www.victoriousfestival.co.uk).
For more details of Hampshire’s 2023 festival line-up, visit https://bit.ly/3BFKBOb
All tourist information for Hampshire can be found at www.visit-hampshire.co.uk
Photo: Winchester Hat Fair