ANRÁN FEST: Devon's first Asian street food and music festival

Leading South Devon venue, ANRÁN at Tidwell Farm, renowned for its superb setting and unique event space, is hosting the region’s first Asian Street Food and Music Festival in support of Cancer Research UK and Children’s Hospice South West.

The two-day event, featuring some of the UK’s most exciting chefs and musicians, will take place on 29th and 30th August at the South Hams farm. Founded by global fashion and hospitality guru couple Edwin Ho and Mike Jowett, ANRÁN FEST aims to create an unforgettable live outdoor experience for people across the South West, whilst giving back to people that need it most.

The Food Festival will showcase the cuisines of Indonesia, India, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand and  Singapore, served up in the Asian Street Food Market by renowned UK-based vendors 5 Foot Way,  Shiok’s Kitchen, Malaysian Kitchen Supper Club, Yuki’s Kitchen, Café Cloudywaaa and Taguchi-Ya  Canteen.

ANRÁN Music Fest is proud to present a cross-genre (jazz, folk, classical) music programme of  internationally renowned songwriters, BBC Introducing favourites, dance floor-filling swing bands,  and rising stars of the UK’s folk and acoustic scene across two stages. Artists appearing across the weekend include legendary singer-songwriter Charlie Dore,  troubadour Reg Meuross, as well as Neil Maya’s swing band All Jazzed Up, Sadie Horler,  Sam Brockington, Brother Sea, Harbottle & Jonas and many more.

In 2013, Edwin and Mike Jowett created their beautiful home and boutique hotel venue in Landscove, near Totnes. Since then, they have connected with the local community and have continually found ways to give back. The idea of organising a charity music and food festival had been in the pipeline for several years, however COVID-19 scuppered the original plan to launch the festival last summer.  

Mike commented, “Last summer we were obviously affected by the pandemic as everyone. However, we were undeterred as we really wanted to make a difference to the lives of children and adults affected by cancer. This is the main driver for us both and we wanted to do that in conjunction with celebrating three things close to our hearts — the street food of Asia, good music and bringing the local community together in a safe way.”  

Last summer, Buckfastleigh Foodbank reached out to the couple, who sold their own produce to  support them, as well as  Cancer Research, through their “Club Kitchen Garden” initiative. The  theme of supporting the local community continues with this mouth-watering event. 

Edwin added, “Being connected locally is so important to us. We grow our own produce here,  which reduces our carbon footprint and enhances the food we are passionate about. We’ll be building an authentic Asian Street Food Market for the event, and have invited some of the best Asian chefs to participate. The music is also a huge part of this event, and we’ve pulled together some of the best local acts we could find. There’s such a rich tapestry of creative talent here, so we’re super keen to show it off.”

The festival aims to ease some of the psychological impact of the pandemic. In addition to  providing a safe, airy, family-friendly venue, the couple has tried to keep the event affordable with tickets priced from £10 for the Food Festival (which include food vouchers), £25 for single-day tickets, and whole-event tickets at £45 for adults and £10 for children.

For more information including line-up, tickets, concessions and parking, please visit www.anranfest.co.uk.

Tickets are available now via the website:www.tickettailor.com/events/anranfest/544368 

ANRÁN FEST Address: ANRÁN @TIDWELL FARM, Ashburton, Devon, England TQ137LY