Chichester Cheese & Chilli Festival
1st & 2nd July 2023
Saturday 10am - 6pm
Sunday 10am - 5pm
We are delighted to announce that the amazing Cheese and Chilli Festival is coming to Chichester in 2023 at Oaklands Park! As former students of Chichester University, we can’t wait to return!
Thank you to our 2023 sponsors:
If you’d like more information on partnering us at this fantastic event in 2024 please contact us.
Main Attractions
Street Theatre
Circus / Fire Performer
Simon Chainey is an accomplished performer based in the South coast of the United Kingdom. Simon turned his love of circus skills from a hobby into a full time profession by founding a group of performers specialising in high-energy fire shows.
Recently Simon has diversified into street performing and uses his incredible skill and stage presence to great effect.
Cooking Theatre
Chilli Olly & Chilli Dave Presents
A number of cooking demonstrations or talks will be offered by professionals from the cheese and chilli industry. Many sessions will be hosted by the famous Chilli Olly but we will also have many guest speakers. See the schedule for further details. The Demonstration Theatre will also host the popular Hot Food Challenge, Ready Steady Cook interactive cooking session plus many more.
Chilli Eating Competition
The Chilli Eating Competition takes place each day at around 4pm. It’s quite a sight to see grown adults struggle to eat tiny fruits and hilarious to see the consequences! The winner of the competition is the person who can stay in the game the longest! If you are mad enough for the challenge, please contact us.
Live Music
A festival is not a festival without some live music! To keep us entertained, we have a number of bands playing for us throughout the weekend. The bands will be celebrated musicians from around the region playing anything from from jazz to rock. See the schedule for further information.
Verses Food Challenge
The Verses Food Challenge is a crazy 30 minutes of watching people try and devour a HOT meal prepared lovingly by our resident chefs Chilli Olly and Chilli Dave. The winner is the person who can finish theirs first! If you are mad enough for the challenge, please contact us.
Walkabout Wendy
Wendy Sax – Wendy’s versatility enables her to play in many different musical styles including jazz, blues, pop, soul, Ibiza chillout, and contemporary smooth jazz and groove, making her popular and in demand and we get to enjoy her music all day.
Children's Entertainment
We have number of FREE activities available for the kids. We have Punch & Judy, Magic Shows, Treasure Hunts, Balloon Modelling, Giant Bubble Parties, Meet Kerry the Koala Crazy Golf, stilt walkers, walkabout musicians and Circus Skills available. There are paid for activities also such as mini fun fair rides, axe throwing, face painting, inflatables etc.
Punch & Judy
“A Classic Whodunit”
Punch & Judy is a classic show which the kids love. It’s also a time to have 30 minutes or so to grab a drink etc and relax as we’ll take the strain. The show is a fun and interactive play which we all know and love.
Meet Kerry The Koala
We have our very own mascot, Kerry The Koala! She’s 3m tall and filled with air and very friendly? We’d love you to come and meet her!
Taste Tent
At each event we have a tailored selection of sauces from various traders around the site and we ask you to judge which ones you prefer. When entering the event, you are given a ballot slip to be used in this area. Your vote counts!
Crazy Golf
Another FREE activity, why not test yourself against our very own Cheese & Chilli Crazy Golf Course. Par 27! Large and small putters available plus multicoloured balls so no cheating.
Cheese
We have an amazing array of cheese on offer. We select a variation of cheese to be present at the event which means we don’t have lots of stalls selling the same varieties but a hand picked selection just for you.
Chilli
An array of lovely chilli available for you to sample and purchase. We are very lucky to be supported by some of the uk’s leading growers, makers and manufacturers of chilli related products. It’s a chance to come and try something new and learn something about these fantastic products.
Good Times
If the activities on offer aren’t your thing, you can just come and have a good time with your friends or family. Let the good times roll!
Sing 4 Wellbeing Choir (Sunday Only)
It‘s a proven fact that singing in a choir is good for you! It’s improves your breathing, allows you to reduce tension and above all singing with a group of like minded friends gives you a great sense of wellbeing. The local Singing 4 Wellbeing Choir is show us how great it sounds too. You can find them HERE.
Bubble Party
A moment for the kids to go crazy and chase all the bubbles! We have giant and little bubbles to make. We even let the kids have a go at making some themselves.
Fun Fair Rides
Steven Hill Amusements will be supplying us with some rides. Here are some example images of rides they have available but it is not yet confirmed which rides will be present.
Beer
Trade Stalls
Street Theatre
and much more...
Please see the schedule for notification of the bands playing at times etc.
What's On
In 2023 we would like to support a local charity, if you are interested, please contact us.
Location, Information, Tickets and Travel
Oaklands Park, Chichester PO19 6AP
What 3 Words; ///navy.entertainer.hungry
Train
The event site is easily accessible via train also (1mile). From Chichester Train Station, turn left out of the train station so that you are heading towards the main shopping area (South Street). Carry on walking in a straight line, pass the monument (Chichester Cross) onto North Street. When you reach the top of the street you’ll see a large car park slightly to the right. Cross the road, walk past the car park (with it on your right hand side). You’ll see the famous Chichester Festival Theatre on the right and the event is there, to the left of this building on the field. THE ROUTE FORM THE TRAIN STATION CAN BE FOUND HERE
Bus
If you’d rather go by Bus, you can catch the 55 bus to Franklin Place which is the bus stop outside Northgate car park with only a short walk (4 minutes) to the event space on the other side of the Chichester Festival Theatre. BUS DETAILS CAN BE FOUND HERE
Car
There are numerous car parks in the local area. The closest is Northgate Car Park which is a local authority pay and display car park. The postcode for this car park is PO19 1BL. Further details of local car parks can be found here; CHICHESTER CAR PARKS
Please also see our Location Map below.
Discount Vouchers
Don’t forget to collect your discount vouchers on the door along with your programme. The vouchers are worth approximately £20 so you can get the cost of your entry back when you buy your goodies. The vouchers are available to spend whilst at the event and some are available to spend online from selected traders.
Dogs
Dogs are very welcome at the show, all we asks is that they are kept on leads and you pick up any waste.
By Car
There are numerous car parks in the local area. The closest is Northgate Car Park which is a local authority pay and display car park. The postcode for this car park is PO19 1BL. CAR PARKS CAN BE FOUND HERE
Public Transport
Train
The event site is easily accessible via train also (1mile). From Chichester Train Station, turn left out of the train station so that you are heading towards the main shopping area (South Street). Carry on walking in a straight line, pass the monument (Chichester Cross) onto North Street. When you reach the top of the street you’ll see a large car park slightly to the right. Cross the road, walk past the car park (with it on your right hand side). You’ll see the famous Chichester Festival Theatre on the right and the event is there, to the left of this building on the field. THE ROUTE FROM THE TRAIN STATION TO THE EVENT SPACE CAN BE FOUND HERE.
Bus
If you’d rather go by Bus, you can catch the 55 bus to Franklin Place which is the bus stop outside Northgate car park with only a short walk (4 minutes) to the event space on the other side of the Chichester Festival Theatre. BUS DETAILS CAN BE FOUND HERE.
Recycling
We are committed to making the Festival more environmentally friendly and we encourage you to do the same. Help us to keep the site tidy and leave no trace. Please bring and use your own water bottles. Try to conserve water on non-essential use. Do not bring glass; no glass bottles are allowed on site. We will also be offering visitors the opportunity to purchase a sustainable reusable cup instead of using single use plastic containers at the bar. We are actively exploring other ways that we can help reduce our carbon footprint. Together we can make a difference.
Top 5 things you can do to help:
1. Recycle, recycle recycle!!
2. Keep tidy. Please don’t leave rubbish or equipment
3. Bring your own water bottle and refill onsite
4. Car share
5. Use public transport or as sustainable as possible transport, particularly if local
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