New food festival launches focused on growing, gathering and feasting

Nation Cymru staff

A new rural festival celebrating growing, food and farming spread across three locations in Carmarthenshire launches this August.

Fallow / Braenar is a new event held within working agricultural spaces, enabling visitors to connect directly with farmers, the land they farm and local independent food producers taking place in three locations in the Tywi Valley on Sunday 30 August.

The new festival is a collaboration between creative event producers Street Food Circus, and two partners based in nearby Llanarthne, Wright’s deli and restaurant and Bremenda Isaf, a 100 acre Carmarthenshire County Council farm trialing growing projects that supply affordable fruit and vegetables to kitchens in schools, care homes and cafes.

The project at Bremenda Isaf has been developed by Bwyd Sir Gâr Food, the Local Food Partnership for Carmarthenshire, as part of the wider ‘Food System Development Project for Carmarthenshire’.

Described as ‘part feast, part field trip and part rural gathering’, the event takes place along the new Twyi Valley cycle path, using three venues within a 20 minute walk or cycle of each other: Bremenda Isaf, Fallow Fferm and Wright’s.

Exploring the three venues, visitors will be able to buy direct from producers, take part in workshops and meet some of the people working to reshape how we farm and eat in Wales.

The Producers’ Yard: A curated market focusing on small and emerging Welsh food and drink producers. The space provides opportunities for food producers to showcase products, share the stories behind their produce and sell directly to customers, while connecting with chefs, hospitality businesses and visitors.

The Workshop Field at Bremenda Isaf will offer a range of hands-on experiences for people to connect with nature, food production and the land, including farm tours, foraging, natural dyeing, seed saving and fermenting.

The Assembly: The Assembly will host discussions, talks and open forums bringing together farmers, producers, chefs and food sector experts. These sessions will explore themes including regenerative agriculture, soil health, biodiversity and the future of Welsh food systems, encouraging knowledge exchange across the food supply chain.

In the evening, the Fallow Feast will be the final shared celebration of seasonal Welsh produce sourced from local farms and producers, hosted in a field at Fallow Fferm, overlooking the beautiful Tywi Valley.

Curated by chef, gastronome and cheesemaker Jack Martin alongside Gabrielle Kelly from acclaimed restaurant Milgi, the Fallow Feast menu champions seasonal produce sourced directly from local farms and artisan producers. Gabrielle’s expertise with wild ingredients shapes both the dishes and her distinctive hedgerow drinks, creating an immersive dining experience rooted in the landscape.

Street Food Circus founder Matt ‘the Hat’ said: “The new cycle path gave us the starting point for Fallo. It follows the old railway line through the Tywi Valley – a route that once connected farms and communities, carrying people and produce in and out of the valley. There’s something really special about bringing that route back to life in a different way.

“FALLOW is about placemaking and celebrating what already exists here: the farms, the river, the landscape, the food and, most importantly, the people. We want people to walk or cycle the old line, stop along the way, meet growers, farmers, chefs and producers, eat together and experience the valley at a slower pace.

“This is an incredibly beautiful part of Wales, and one I’m lucky enough to call home. Fallow is really about bringing people together to celebrate it – its landscape, its produce and its stories – and hopefully creating something that feels like it belongs here and can grow here for years to come.” he said.

The FALLOW festival is a ‘pay what you feel’ event with tickets available for free, or for a voluntary contribution to support this and future events. There is a separate charge and ticket for the Fallow Feast. Tickets are available from fallow.wales.

Producers Yard market includes

Bremenda Isaf
Tir Awel
Penrhiw Farm Cheese
Y Sied
Moch Coch
Cothi Valley
Salt + Smoke
Carn Edward
Blodau Caredig
Swn y Coed
Wales Seed Hub
Dinefwr Orchardeers
Tetrim Teas
Lilliwen Herbs
The Fat Earth
Spiritwood
Coed Talylan
Ffynnon Wen Farm
Mêl Gwenyn Gruffydd Honey

Workshops include:

Cegin y Bobl – get cooking
Create a veg monster!
Blodau Caredig – flower crowns
Hael – natural dye
Bremenda Isaf – market garden tour
The Fat Earth – wild fermenting
Wales Seed Hub – seed processing
Our Wild Edges – foraging walk
Coed Talylan – mushroom growing at home

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