Amgueddfa Cymru Food Festival is going digital this year – with plenty of free events for families (AD)

Paid collaboration with Amgueddfa Cymru / National Museum Wales

Amgueddfa Cymru Food Festival is going digital this year, with more than 60 online events taking place across the weekend of Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2020 – and the majority of them are free.

From live cook-along sessions and panel discussions to musical performances and even yoga, there’s a wide range of events, with each of the museum’s social media platforms acting as a separate festival ‘tent’. A number of the activities will be inspired by food-related items from the food collections of Amgueddfa Cymru’s seven national museums, while a virtual market will also showcase local food producers and crafts online.

The annual St Fagans Food Festival is usually held in the grounds of St Fagans National Museum of History. Established in 2010, it attracts around 25,000 visitors over a weekend. But, with large-scale events currently prohibited until further notice, this year organisers are taking it online, and it’s easy to get involved.

Events will be streamed live on Amgueddfa Cymru / National Museum Wales’ Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Crowdcast pages. You can join in live, or catch up at a time to suit you, with videos available on their respective platforms after the festival weekend, as well as on Amgueddfa Cymru’s YouTube channel. A recording of the live panel discussions will also be available on YouTube.

Some events require tickets to be purchased in advance (see the website for information) but the majority are completely free with no need to register in advance. However, as Amgueddfa Cymru is a registered charity, donations are welcome to support its work. Amgueddfa Cymru was losing around £400k of income per month while closed to the public, and although some sites are now reopen, these losses won’t be fully recovered recover due the current social distancing guidelines.

You can see the full programme of events on the St Fagans Food Festival website, but highlights for families include:

A Recipe for a Poem

Saturday 12 September, 11am and Sunday 13 September, 4.10pm, Facebook

Free

Suitability: All

Language: Welsh

Former Bardd Plant Cymru (Wales Children’s Poet) Casia Williams needs your help to find the tastiest words and the most interesting ingredients. Can you rustle up a recipe? Sizzle some sounds? Mix up a mouth-watering tale? It’s time to cook up a story! Give Casia your ideas for foods and friends and she will bake up a fabulous fable.

Saturday 11am: Casia will introduces the challenge via video. Leave your ideas and suggestions in the video’s comments section.

Sunday 4.10pm: An exclusive reading of the poem.

A Recipe for a Story

Saturday 12 September 11am and Sunday 13 September, 4.10pm Facebook

Free

Suitability: All

Language: English

Eloise Williams, author and Children’s Laureate Wales, needs your help to find the tastiest words and the most interesting ingredients. Can you rustle up a recipe? Sizzle some sounds? Mix up a mouth-watering tale? It’s time to cook up a story! Give Eloise your ideas for foods and friends and she will bake up a fabulous fable.

Saturday 11am: Eloise will introduce the challenge via video. Leave your ideas and suggestions in the video’s comments section.

Sunday 4.10pm: An exclusive reading of the short story.

Foraged Flower Crowns with Green Squirrel

Saturday 12 September 2020, 11.20am, Facebook

Cost Free

Suitability: All ages (adults and children).  Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Language: Bilingual (Welsh & English)

Learn to create a foraged flower crown, using basic recyclable materials and foliage and flowers from the garden. Get your gardening gloves, a scissors, paper, and string, and follow these simple steps to make your festival flower crown at home. This event is lead by Green Squirrel, which creates exciting opportunities for greener living in Cardiff and South Wales, through community work, eco-activities, workshops, and local events.

Cooking Together: Dinca ’Fala

Saturday 12 September 2020, 12.10pm, Facebook

Free

Suitability 4+. Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Language: English

Inspired by recipes from the Museum’s collection, Richard, from Cooking Together, will provide cooking demonstrations offering a modern and child-friendly twist on some traditional Welsh dishes.

In the first of two demos, Richard will demonstrate how to make Dinca ’Fala, a popular pudding recipe which can be found in the Museum’s online Welsh Fare resource. Traditionally, this apple cake would be baked in a Dutch oven in front of an open fire – but the ingredients and method have been adapted slightly for this demo to suit modern tastes and kitchen equipment.

Traditional Recipe: Bread Pudding

Saturday 12 September 2020, 1pm, Facebook

Cost Free

Suitability 4+. Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Language: Bilingual (Welsh & English)

Reusing and restricting waste is not a new idea and plenty of recipes from the Museum’s archives help to make the most of our food supplies. Join the farmer’s wife in Llwyn-yr-eos Kitchen as she shares a recipe to use up the last of the stale bread and make a tea time treat for the family to enjoy.

If you fancy having a go at replicating this Bread Pudding and to explore more traditional Welsh recipes then take a look at the Museum’s Welsh Fare Online Resource.

Beeswax Air Fresheners with Green Squirrel

Saturday 12 September, 2.20pm, Facebook

Free

Suitability 4+. Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Language: English

Using beeswax from the hives at the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea, Becca from Green Squirrel demonstrates how to make simple beeswax air fresheners at home. Place these in warm spots around the home or add string to use them as scented decorations. Green Squirrel create exciting opportunities for greener living in Cardiff and South Wales, through community work, eco-activities, workshops, and a programme of local events.

Storytelling: The Assembly of the Head

Saturday 12 September 2020, 4.10pm, Facebook

Free

Suitability All

Language: Bilingual (Welsh and English)

The Assembly of the Head tells the tale of the end of a war, a time of grief, and a time of looking towards the future. The great battle between Ireland and Britain has laid waste to both countries, and the war-weary men who return home to Welsh soil cannot forget what they have seen on the battlefield. Accompanied by the great head of their king, the giant Bendigeidfran, they attempt to feast, drink and celebrate their memories away, before realising that life must always hold both light and darkness. This final part of the Second Branch of the Mabinogi is told by storyteller Tamar Eluned Williams, and was filmed on a beach in Co. Donegal, Ireland.

Sun Printing Workshop

Sunday 13 September, 11am, Facebook

Free

Suitability 4+. Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Language: Welsh

Welsh artist and printmaker Michael Goode explains how to create prints using sunlight and some of the beautiful flowers and leaves that are in full bloom at this time of year. Be inspired to get outdoors with friends and family, to your local park or nearby beach, to find objects and textures to create your own unique works of art.

You will need: a piece of card, sun print paper, a bowl of water, a piece of acrylic (optional), and natural materials or household objects to create the patterns.

Cooking Together: Welsh Rarebit Muffins

Sunday 13 September, 11.30am, Facebook

Free

Suitability 4+. Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Language: English

Inspired by recipes from the Museum’s collection, Richard, from Cooking Together, will provide cooking demonstrations offering a modern and child-friendly twist on some traditional Welsh dishes.

The second demo by Cooking Together will be ‘Welsh Rarebit Muffins’ – a bite-sized twist on the popular savory dish. These Welsh Rarebit Muffins make a great snack and are ideal to serve as part of a healthy picnic or lunchbox.

Scrap Instruments Workshop

Sunday 13 September, 12.15pm, Facebook

Free

Suitability 4+. Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Language: Bilingual (Welsh & English)

Get creative using food packaging, recycled materials, and other items found in the home to make your own musical instruments.

To make a harmonica you will need: wooden lollypop sticks, elastic bands and some paper.

To make a banjo you will need: a butter tub or any other plastic food container (emptied and washed), a carboard tube, elastic bands, some tape, and anything you’d like to decorate it with.

The session is lead by Francesca Dimech, a bilingual Cardiff born and bred musician who also runs Throway Music/Offerynnau Sbwriel, an initiative aimed at raising awareness about waste and recycling through building instruments from recycled materials.

Growing the Future Gardening Activities

Sunday 13 September, 12.40pm and 2.40pm, Facebook

Free

Suitability All

Language: Bilingual (Welsh & English)

The National Botanic Garden of Wales, Growing the Future project, and Adam yn yr Ardd will inspire you with fun-filled activities to enjoy in your garden.  Learn the importance of connecting with nature and how you can attract and help wildlife in your outdoor space.

Smartphone Food Photography with Manon Houston

13 September 2020, 1pm, Instagram

Free

Suitability 13+

Language: English

Food stylist and photographer Manon Houston shares her top tips for capturing that perfect food photo, using just your smartphone. Learn how to set the scene, making the most of natural lighting, how to adjust the camera angle, frame and composition, before using some correcting techniques to perfect the picture. The tutorial will be followed by a live Q&A with Manon. Use the hashtags #digitalfoodfestival #askmanon to submit your questions, or send us a message!

Circus Skills with Rhian Circus Cymru

Sunday 13 September, 3pm, Facebook

Free

All ages. Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Language: Bilingual (Welsh and English)

Join Rhian from Circus Cymru to learn some basic circus skills. Learn to create a series of moves with juggling balls, tricks with three balls, and the technique of how to balance an object.

To take part you will need: three juggling balls or balls the size of a tennis ball (three rolled up pairs of adult socks will work too!); three small plastic bags; a newspaper page, brush, umbrella – or any other household object you’d like to try and balance on your finger!

Join in, and send us photos or videos of you practicing using #gwylfwyddigidol #digitalfoodfest

Fruit Mocktails with Flawsome!

Sunday 13 September, 3.40pm, Facebook

Free

All ages. Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Language: English

A mocktail masterclass that celebrates wonky, imperfect fruit. Cardiff company Flawsome!, save imperfect ‘wonky’ and surplus fruit and transform them into perfectly crafted cold-pressed juice. One third of all food is wasted due to aesthetic standards or supply chain inefficiencies.  By saving the rejected fruit, Flawsome! are inspiring us to reimagine our perception of waste – sustainable and delicious.

Family Yoga with Eleri Morgan

Sunday 13 September, 4.40pm, Facebook

Free

All ages. Children to be accompanied by an adult.

Language: Bilingual (Welsh and English)

Yoga teacher Eleri Morgan will lead a mindful yoga session suitable for all the family from the beautiful setting of the museum’s Roman gardens. Learn techniques to help improve your focus and relax the mind and step off the mat feeling refreshed, nourished, and balanced.