Peak District pottery and food festival to celebrate life of event founder

More than 70 established and up-coming pottery makers, local food purveyors and hundreds of shoppers are expected at the Wardlow Mires Pottery & Food Festival.

Billed as a ‘celebration of the table’, the festival will see potters and producers pitch up in a marquee just off the B6465 near Wardlow village, alongside a food court, beer and cider tents and hands-on pottery activities.

The event is hosted by Pat Fuller, who established it in 2012 with her late husband Geoff to showcase the pottery they had set up at their pub, the Three Stags Heads Inn.

Pat said: “Geoff passed away earlier this year, but we are here because of the vision he had to put on a festival of functional pottery alongside quality foods, and for that reason that I would like to dedicate this year’s show to his memory.

“Geoff was never one to push himself or his work forward, preferring people to look at the work, rather than be influenced by any hype or, as he called it, ‘art school speak’. That is also true of our show.”

She added: “He always kept true to his principles and there was a purity in that, a single-minded intent that his work should speak for itself, stand alone. Could he have been more famous; his work exhibited more widely? Perhaps, but that, to Geoff, would have meant lowering his standards and possibly being forced to make in a way that he was not comfortable with – a less pure way.

“His gift to pottery is not just through his work, but through his teachings and guidance to his students and those who came to know handmade pottery through the pub. He encouraged them to look beyond what we made, opening up the wider world of ceramics and encouraging them to find their own styles and their own tastes. To my mind, that made him a very rare craftsman indeed.”

The event is open 10am to 5pm on Saturday, and 10am to 4pm on Sunday. Last entry is one hour before closing time. Tickets cost £6 each on the gate, free for under-16s, with parking included.

For more details, visit www.potsandfood.co.uk.

“In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together.” – Louise Cooper, editor.