Bord Bia’s Bloom festival in Phoenix Park welcomed over 94,000 people over the bank holiday weekend, despite the unpredictable weather.
Speaking at the last day of the event, Aidan Cotter, Chief Executive of Bord Bia commented, "Bord Bia is privileged to provide this public showcase of Ireland's world-class food and horticulture sectors, both of which play a significant role in Ireland's story and economy.
“Despite the wind and rain, all participants remained in high spirits and reported very strong sales. Planning has already started for 2016, which will mark Bord Bia’s 10th annual Bloom event."
Visitors over the weekend included President Michael D. Higgins, An Tánaiste Joan Burton, along with Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney and Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar.
Celebrity attendees included TV presenters Kathyrn Thomas, Eoghan McDermott and Darren Kennedy, as well as Irish models Sarah McGovern, Olivia Tracey and Rozanna Purcell.
RTE’s presence at Bloom 2015 saw Marty Whelan, Aine Lawlor and Joe Duffy’s Liveline crew all present at the festival, while Nuala Carey and Evelyn Cusack were on hand to give continuous weather predictions across the weekend.
Overall, 123 Bloom medals and awards were presented to garden designers, floral artists, nurseries, exhibitors and botanical artists.
With 125 food and drink producers taking part, the market tents were a lively attraction. The Jelly Bean Factory saw 30,000 jelly beans sampled at its stand, while over 5,000 visitors tasted McCormack Farms’ new Raw Juice range. Over at the CAIS Farmhouse Cheese stand, 10kg of Irish-made cheese was sampled too.
© 2015 - Checkout Magazine by Jenny Whelan.
