Huntly Hairst 2022 has been hailed a success by organisers after thousands of locals and tourists descended on the town over the weekend.
Running on Saturday and Sunday, Huntly Hairst is a celebration of the food and traditions of Aberdeenshire and hosts a line-up of exciting events for visitors to participate in.
Its infamous World Stovies Championship – which it has been hosting for the past seven years as part of the region’s food and drink culture – an extended farmers’ market featuring more than 50 stalls, and the Great Scottish Youth Bake Off were among them.
Local businesses including Singularity Sauce, Granite City Fish, Morningdog Coffee, Udny Provender, Wark Farm Pies, Nom Nom Fudge, Sweet Toots Cakery, and Hungry Squirrel were at hand to curb visitors’ food and drink cravings.
The Saturday program of events took place from 9am to 4pm in the town centre.
On Sunday, they continued with The Big Picnic at Leith Hall, running from 11am to 6pm.
Busiest Huntly Hairst yet
Laura McNeil, organiser of Huntly Hairst, is delighted with how this year’s festival turned out.
She said: “This was our busiest one yet, that’s for sure.
“Some stalls brought double the amount they had last year and still sold out.”
It is anticipated that around 4,000 people attended the Hairst on the first day of celebrations alone.
A focal point of Huntly Hairst 2022 was to highlight the issue of food insecurity due to the cost of living crisis.
Events were held in Stewarts Hall to showcase this – The Great Hairst Menu being one.
Another includes a coffee morning hosted by Gordon Rural Action (GRA) and the Huntly Foodbank, which took place on Saturday.
There was also the opportunity to donate food for the local food bank at the front of the hall.
For more information on the event, visit www.huntlyhairst.co.uk
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