Celebrity chefs, street food, live entertainment and a host of free family activities are set to bring Nelson town centre to life when the Nelson Food and Drink Festival returns this weekend.

The popular free festival takes place on Saturday from 11am to 5pm, with thousands of visitors expected to descend on the town for a day celebrating food, drink, local businesses and entertainment.

Sponsored by Nelson Town Council and Nelson-based Sugden Processing Equipment, this year's event will feature a packed programme of cooking demonstrations, food and craft stalls and activities for families.

Food fans will be able to choose from a huge range of dishes, including spiral potatoes, wood-fired pizza, Greek street food, jerk chicken and rice, mini-Dutch pancakes, ice cream, snow cones, boba and coffee.

Celebrity chefs and street food heading to Nelson for huge food festival

placeholder image — Celebrity chefs and street food heading to Nelson for huge food festival

A new feature for 2026 will be the Rising Stars Market, giving young entrepreneurs under the age of 25 the chance to showcase their businesses at the festival free of charge.

One of the main attractions will be a series of live cooking demonstrations featuring celebrity chefs Zaynah Din and Naem Rafiq, founder and pitmaster of Brierfield's PitBoyz Smokehouse.

Best-selling author and TikTok star Zaynah will open the cooking programme at 11-30am with Aloo and Cheese Stuffed Naan.

Naem will then take over at 12-30pm for a brisket masterclass, showing how he creates his award-winning smoked BBQ.

Zaynah returns to the stage at 1-30pm to prepare Chilli Garlic Chicken, followed by Naem at 2-30pm, when he will reveal the results of his slow-smoked brisket masterclass and turn the meat into loaded brisket mac and cheese.

The final cooking demonstration will see Zaynah prepare Channa Masala at 3-30pm.

The entertainment will continue throughout the afternoon, with Dhol drummers and Bhangra dancers taking to the town centre at 4pm for a colourful and energetic finale.

There will also be plenty on offer for younger visitors, with free face painting and free henna available during the festival.

Children aged under 12 can also take part in the Nelson Food and Drink Festival Shop Trail, giving families the chance to explore independent businesses around the town centre.

To enter, youngsters must visit eight participating businesses and collect a stamp at each one before entering their completed booklet into a special box at the main festival marquee.

Burnley snooker sensation Lewis Ullah on his quest to become professional

Participating businesses are Brunch Corner, Café Riwa, Microtech, Cha Cha Chai, Dubai Shawarma, Your Girl Can Bake, Dels Hair and Coco.

Prizes include a £50 Café Riwa voucher, a £30 Brunch Corner voucher and a £30 Cha Cha Chai voucher.

Councillor Sughra Bibi, events chair at Nelson Town Council, said the festival was an opportunity to bring people together while showcasing the town's businesses.

She said: “The Nelson Food & Drink Festival is always an incredibly popular day for the town, with people coming along in their thousands to enjoy the fantastic atmosphere.

“This year there is so much going on, from our celebrity chef demonstrations and brilliant food and drink traders to the new Rising Stars Market, live entertainment and lots of free activities for families.

“It is a wonderful opportunity to bring people together, showcase Nelson and support our local businesses at the same time.”