Get ready for a sweet summer as Pontefract's famous Liquorice Festival returns

The famous food and drink market is back with a bang this July and the firm family favourite promises not to disappoint with something for everyone to enjoy, including the return of the famous specialist market and non-stop entertainment.

The festival, which celebrates Pontefract’s historic link with liquorice, is celebrated annually and is set to return on Sunday July 9 from 10am to 4pm.

Stretching across Market Place, Salter Row and Corn Market, expect everything from tasty treats to tempt the taste buds to quirky gifts and homeware that you just won’t find anywhere else.

For all the music lovers, bands will also be playing on stage throughout the day, compered by stage partners Rhubarb Radio.

Coun Michelle Collins, Wakefield Council’s cabinet member for Culture, Leisure and Sport, said: “There’s all sorts of fun planned for the festival as we celebrate Pontefract’s unique association with liquorice.

“Come along and enjoy the wide variety of entertainment and browse the colourful stalls, selling a wide variety of produce – many with a liquorice twist.

“The festival is once again shaping up to be a really great day out for all the family.”

And there will also be free family workshops including liquorice jewellery making, circus workshops and outdoor creative play with The Hepworth Wakefield learning team.

If all that’s not enough, kids will love having a go on the colourful funfair rides in the town centre, free face painting and street entertainment including Lucy Liquorice, stilt entertainers and street theatre performances.

Paul Cartwright, Chair of the Pontefract Civic Society, added: “We’re really pleased to be working with the council and supporting the local community and businesses to put on a full entertainment programme that everyone will enjoy.

"There’s the outdoor artisan market, food stalls, children getting involved through their schools, Pontefract Art Club, a liquorice art trail, and a scavenger hunt with prizes across the town. So please come down and get involved.”

Join Pontefract Museum with their sweet-themed crafts and tasty trail whilst finding out about the history of liquorice in Pontefract and share the nostalgia with their dazzling display of liquorice packets from years gone by.

Or head over to Pontefract Library for a talk by Tom Dixon on the history and heritage of liquorice in Pontefract at 11.30am and 2pm.

Pontefract Liquorice Festival runs in partnership with the Pontefract Civic Society who are also hosting ‘Liquorice Shoots’ on Saturday July 8 - a community warm-up event for the main festival featuring entertainment, artisan stalls and family activities.

The Liquorice Food and Drink Trail will also be returning following its successful debut last year, where visitors can sample a sweet-themed special from one of the incredible bars, restaurants, and cafes that Pontefract has to offer.

Liquorice, which originates from the Middle East, grows well in Pontefract soil and it is thought it to have been brought to the town he town either by medieval knights who owned Pontefract Castle, when they returned from the crusades, or by monks, who settled at Pontefract Priory. While exact origins are unknown, most sources associate the beginning of Pontefract liquorice cultivation in the mid 16th century.

For more information, visit: https://expwake.co/PLF