Lincolnshire Sausage Festival is a real banger

— Kathryn Hall and Stephanie Bird contributed with this report

People flocked to the annual Lincolnshire Sausage Festival, which returned for it’s seventh year running, in the Castle Grounds, on Saturday 31st October.

The festival used to be held in the Castle Square and has grown from just seven stalls to almost 40. Stallholders now sell produce ranging from sausages to handmade crisps and homemade fudge, all from Lincolnshire, to celebrate food produced in the county.

Perhaps the best known person in attendance was Rachel Green, a TV chef. She gave cooking demonstrations throughout the day, producing delicious sausage and ale casserole, as well as a sausage stir fry for people to try.

Green, who has gone to every event since it started, said: “I love it. It’s a really good event and almost 35% of Lincolnshire’s population works in either the food or flower industries, so I feel it’s very worthwhile.”

She was also keen to spread the message to buy local produce saying: “If you don’t buy it, you lose it.”

Mary Powell from Tastes of Lincolnshire (TOL), who have helped fund the event every year, said: “Sausages tend to be thought of as cheap and nasty with anything put in them, but we believe that the Lincolnshire Sausage is great and it should get the recognition it deserves.”

The Rotary Club, who first came up with the idea of the Sausage Festival and have organised it every year since, thought the day went well.

Roger Hall and Mark Stowe of the club said: “This year the event has spread further than ever with people coming from further away to join in, such as the ‘Chilli Jam Man’ who has travelled from Leeds.”

The Sausage Festival wasn’t only about food though, with the Lincolnshire Sports Partnership promoting more physical activity for people of all ages. They held demonstrations in activities from Boules to Tai Chi, in order to encourage the county to get back into sports.

Visitors to the event were quick to praise the festival. Tony Speakman, a local, said: “It’s a very good event, with a nice range of different stalls. I’ll definitely be back.”

A couple from Newark, who happened to stumble on the event while visiting Lincoln, were also impressed, saying: “It was a nice suprise to find the event. We’re keen on ‘real food’ so definitely support it. We like all the samples too, the food’s delicious.”