Yesterday we visited the Craft & Crust Music Festival at Portsmouth Guildhall. What an afternoon!
About a month ago I'd been looking on Eventbrite and Facebook for local events and this Festival popped up. I got the tickets as a bit of a punt, not knowing too much about the event but liking the sound of it. And knowing Guildhall events are usually very fun.
A combination of my mental health and Laura being pregnant meant we were not able to make the most of the craft ales, gins, ciders and more. That said, I did try a few ciders and really liked the Cherry Burst Cider on the Apple Thief stand. The Team there were also really great with talking me through their selection of ciders and testing what tasted best to me.
Food wise, we went with a plan. Eat as soon as we arrive, then eat again just before we leave.
My two choices were Monster's Pie & Mash and later Arty-Stan Pizza. Laura went for Foccaccia then Let's Get Ready To Crumble. All of the food was great, really really good. The only food we missed was the South Coast Bagels (which I'm sure were good too, just we could only eat so much), so I think we did well.
In one of the side rooms there where (a different type of) craft stalls, with jumpers, greetings cards, candles and jewellery. These were cool and a really nice addition to the event. Personally, I would have liked a couple more exhibitors/ stalls to look around. You could potentially be at the event for 5 hours, so there's plenty of time to roam and check out stalls.
The entertainment on stage kept the afternoon flowing. There was a range of activities and performances. This was maybe the one thing I would have changed slightly. We couldn't find a program online before the day to see what was on, and even on the day there didn't seem to be a program anywhere. So there was seemingly no way to know what was happening when, or to make sure you were in the hall for a particular activity or performer.
I also thought the pie eating competition, surely should have used the opportunity to use and promote pies from one of the trade stalls. Missed opportunity.
That being said, the musical performance and general stage presence of James and the Giant Beat was so enjoyable. We would have listened to him all day. We loved his recording and looping, one person band setup. Really fun to watch and creates a very cool intro to each song.
I imagine performing at this event maybe something quite different, given some people are watching you perform and some are just cracking on with moving around, trying drinks and or chatting. So your both in the background and in focus. If that makes sense? So big well done to all the performers.
I believe the Craft & Crust Music Festival maybe touring different locations soon, so definitely worth checking their website for future events you can attend.
I'm so glad we took a chance and just booked tickets. This was a really enjoyable, chill, relaxed event. That was great food, drinks, a few nice stalls/ exhibitors and fun entertainment.
Another great event to add to our Guildhall experiences.
Please note: This post does not include sponsored content; I paid for our event tickets, food and drink myself. Portsmouth Guildhall the Traders, Performers and Exhibitors did not ask to and have not seen this post before it is published, nor have they instructed me on what to say. The views, experiences, thoughts and insights expressed in this post are my own.