Llandovery, the little town with a great big heart a stones throw from the Charcoal Hut, is getting a bit of a reputation as the place to be for festivals. Not only is it a great base to travel to the big hitters like Hay on Wye Literary Festival; or Brecon Jazz; or Green Man but Llandovery is developing some must sees of its own. Some of the umpteen annual celebrations taking place right in Llandovery include Pride; The Motorbike Weekend; Llandovery Carnival and the newest addition to the calendar: The Heart of Wales Fringe Festival.
However one festival has been a mainstay since 2010 and draws its inspiration from the town’s rural situation and rich droving history: The Llandovery Sheep Festival.
Every year people young and old, from near and far, as well as those who have left but not forgotten Llandovery, return to the town to revel in everything sheep farming and wool.
Llandovery Sheep Festival will return on the 14 & 15 of September, with fantastic new features for ewe (see what we did there) to enjoy. As always the festival will celebrate of rural crafts, food and entertainment, sprawled throughout Llandovery town centre.
Rachel Everett, the Chairman of the Festival, said: “The Llandovery Sheep Festival has gone from strength to strength since its inception. It is an event that’s been wholeheartedly embraced by the people of Llandovery and its success is very much a reflection of that. Events such as this are important to the agricultural community, not only in terms of bringing people together, but also in terms of showcasing the best of local produce, goods and services.
So how is the Llandovery Sheep festival growing and looking toward the future?
“We have a lot of new features for this year’s event including a Twmpath to kick off the weekend in style on the Friday evening. We’re also encouraging everyone locally to enter our village show competition. We will also have vintage tractor show, a fun wheelbarrow race and lots more.
“The concept behind this community led festival is to showcase the best of Llandovery, to share its cultural identity and historical past through the promotion of the wool industry and the local farming economy. This year’s packed programme will certainly not disappoint and will have something for everyone.”
“The town’s Market Square and Castle carpark will be a kaleidoscope of colour during the event in September with almost 100 exhibitors displaying their wares from textiles, arts and crafts, to locally produced food and drink. The streets of Llandovery will be packed with entertainment and music. There will also be a climate change forum and a programme of storytelling for younger visitors to enjoy.”
What we at Charcoal Hut love most is that the Sheep Festival is taking more care to bring people together to make this year’s Festival as inclusive as possible.
There’s always something incredible happening in Llandovery but don’t take our word for it, come and check out one of the many wonderful grass roots festivals for yourself. And if your need somewhere to unwind after the days entertainment: we’ve got the perfect spot.