MORE than 3,000 food lovers filled Alton’s Public Gardens on Sunday for FlavourFest, a celebration of local produce, beer, spirits and gin making.

And it also proved a lot of fun for children.

It was organised by Jenny Atherton, of Fuse Project, with Dave Tigg and Gill Cooper, the first one they have held in the town and, thanks to its success, more are planned.

Alton Town Council gave £750 to sponsor the event.

There were 50 stallholders from across the South East offering everything from Spanish paella to Hampshire hog roast, marshmallows to macarons, homemade cakes to charcuterie, and Somerset cider to Hampshire ale.

One highlight was the Gin Garden, where people could sample the free alcoholic delights being handed out by Winchester Distillery, which makes Watercress Gin, and could take a seat in deckchair and enjoy a quiet drink.

Not to be outdone, there were whisky guided tour workshops and two local breweries, Longdog and Betteridge, offered samples of their brews or visitors could try the latest vintages from Priors Dean Vineyard.

A display by the Vanessa Golborn School of Dance brought loud applause and a variety of local bands playing their own style of music provided a lively background and inspired some impromptu dancing.

Taking a rest from the eating and drinking, visitors could also enjoy talks from food producers on how they run their businesses and how they get the best of local produce from farms and distributors, or sometimes grow it themselves.

Jenny said: “It has been fantastic bringing FlavourFest to our home town, which was free for people to attend.

“The festival is a huge celebration of food and drink and gives local producers the chance to come together and share their fantastic food creations with our visitors.

“It was the first such event I’d held and was pleased so many people came to enjoy it. We had very good food and drink on offer and so I hope to repeat our success with another Alton Flavourfest very soon.”