Another successful year for Festival Lough Erne

Food enthusiasts flocked to Enniskillen Castle over the weekend to enjoy the fifth annual Festival Lough Erne.

The festival, organised by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and supported by the Department of Agriculture, Environment & Rural Affairs, Tourism NI, Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism,  Waterways Ireland and Enniskillen BID celebrates all that’s great about Fermanagh, showcasing the tremendous natural resource of our lakelands and waterways and the exceptional quality of our local produce.

The two-day event attracted over 5,000 locals, visitors and tourists to the area and offered a full programme of activities including a Food Village offering a range of delights.

Throughout the weekend, visitors sampled the culinary delights created by guest chefs, such as Paula McIntyre, Adrian Martin and Glen Wheeler who created some culinary masterpieces using the best produce sourced from within the county; all delivered from the festival hub at the award-winning Enniskillen Castle and Museums.

The staff of the ever-popular Giddy Box hosted cocktail masterclasses and local bands, Midnight Graffiti and The Banjacks, supported by a host of Irish traditional museum, brass and accordion bands provided live entertainment within the grounds of the Castle.

New for this year’s festival, was the Enniskillen Taste Experience which offered guided tours through the best artisanal culinary delights which Enniskillen has to offer, and the Lovely Leitrim Barge which provided tapas tutorials and live entertainment on board.

There was also a number of water-based activities for all ages and abilities at this year’s festival with tours aboard the Erne Water Taxi while the more adventurous had the opportunity to captain their own “wee red boat” with Erne Boat hire or avail of the opportunity to canoe along the waterways with Erne Paddlers.

Festival Lough Erne once again showcased the exceptional quality of local produce and was well supported by the local community, food producers and traders and provided the ideal start to the “Taste the Island” celebration of local food and drink endorsed by Tourism NI.