The Alresford Watercress Festival (Sunday 17 May) is one of the highlights of the town’s year, attracting as many as 18,000 visitors to celebrate the start of the UK watercress season.
Organisation and running of the festival is done mainly by amazing volunteers for no pay, while any profits made are given to several local charities. This means that the sponsors, another tranche of unsung heroes, are vital to the success and continuation of the festival, now in its 22nd year.
Claire May, Festival Manager, explains their importance: “Without the sponsors we wouldn’t be able to donate nearly as much money to charity every year, or sustain the calibre of music, chefs or entertainment. “As a local festival, inevitably much of our sponsorship comes from local businesses who benefit from raising their profile amongst a local audience but there are sponsors from further afield who have heard about the success of the festival and the number of visitors we attract. We’ve been lucky to have some sponsors that have stood by us from day one, not least the NFU Watercress Association and The Watercress Company for obvious reasons! Other sponsors have come and gone but all have been invaluable, and we thank everyone for their support.”
A new sponsor for this year is the car brand, Lexus.
Gareth Taylor, Centre Principal for the local Lexus dealership explains the appeal for them: “The festival meets the Lexus brand values of ‘creating amazing experiences’, but it’s also a fantastic chance to have conversations with local people and to be involved in a genuine community event.”
There will be two cars at the festival, in which people can sit and explore their many functions. All Lexus cars are hybrid or fully electric and so the brand fits perfectly with the eco-friendly principles of the festival and the cars on show will probably be the Lexus RZ (their ‘hero’ EV product) and Lexus LBX, their compact SUV.
On Festival day the Lexus team will also be giving away branded wildflower seeds plus the chance to win a dining experience at popular Alresford restaurant Pulpo Negro outside of which the cars will be parked, just by the Main Stage. Finally, they will also be donating a deluxe picnic hamper for the festival raffle.
Lainston House, the stunning Queen Anne Country House Hotel in Sparsholt has been involved with the festival since 2007 but as an official sponsor since 2023.
Initially Andy Mackenzie (who was Executive Head Chef at Lainston from 2007 – 2014 but is now Executive Chef of the Exclusive Chefs Academy) regularly appeared on the cookery stage, but when the hotel became part of Hampshire Farmers Market, they took a stall and sold their delicious homemade bread. Since 2023, however, Lainston House has sponsored the Chef’s Stage and brought their mini cookery workshops to the festival to raise money for Abby’s Heroes, a fantastic local children’s cancer charity and the festival’s nominated charity.
Andy says: “We love being part of the festival and sponsorship just seemed the logical next step. It really raises awareness of Lainston House in the local community and enables us to share information about all the different offerings we have at the hotel, not just the restaurants but the cookery classes and the amazing venue it is for weddings and special occasions. “It’s great having the chance to talk to people, many of whom have stories of their own about the hotel, and it’s useful to meet so many quality local food and drink producers. “We’re able to tell how successful the festival has been for us by the number of people who quote the festival when booking their table or event for the rest of the year.”
This year’s Watercress Festival will see two of Lainston House’s popular chefs take to the Chef’s Stage, sharing their ways with watercress. Apparently, they love adding it to their sauces and dressings that accompany the exceptional meat dishes served in the restaurants. Finally, the hotel will also be promoting their Gozney pizza ovens in several ways yet to be revealed!
The Watercress Company is one of the longest-standing sponsors of the festival and was in fact one of the founding members 22 years ago.
Tom Amery, MD of The Watercress Company says: “The Watercress Festival is a vital part of our annual marketing programme to raise awareness of watercress nationally at a key time of year when UK production really kicks in. Having said that it’s also a fantastic way to engage with the local community that is so important to us. “We provide much of the watercress that is distributed by the Watercress King & Queen to the gathered crowds and the bags of watercress exchanged for donations by Abby’s Heroes’ volunteers. “This year we’re opening up Manor Farm, encouraging more visitors to come and see how we grow watercress but also providing more parking spaces that can be pre-booked on the festival website. All the money raised from the parking will be donated to Abby’s Heroes. The festival is a lot of work but it’s a great day and we’re proud to be a sponsor.”
Claire May concludes: “We’d like to thank all our fantastic sponsors – we value every one of you big and small. Sponsorship opportunities are still available, and if you’re interested, please contact me via the Watercress Festival website.”
Sponsors of the festival include The NFU Watercress Association, The Watercress Company, Lexus, Wates, Lainston House, The Flowerpots, Hampshire Farmers Market, Charters, Vranken Pommery and a host of Community Groups. We thank you all.
