Groups of friends filter down to the harbourside, sitting out on a café terrace to soak up the sun, while children play by the waterAnd more often than not, there’s a gathering or festival taking place in the sunshine. Bristol is a huge foodie city, so there are a wide array of tasty festivals taking place over the summer months. We’ve rounded up six that you don’t want to miss!

Image courtesy of Bristol Food Connections

Bristol Food Connections Festival 2015

Why stick to just one area of the city? Bristol Food Connections is a huge festival that takes place all over Bristol, celebrating the best that the city produces. The festival takes place over nine days, encompassing markets, a food trail, food walks, cookery classes and demos. Keep an eye on the site for events, which will be announced soon.

Date: 1^st – 9^th May

Cost: Most events are free

Location: Varies

Web: www.bristolfoodconnections.com

Taste Chocolate

With the appearance of the Easter bunny just around the corner, Taste Chocolate is the perfect festival to get you in the spirit of things. The festival takes place over the Easter weekend, right on Bristol’s harbourside. You’ll find 40 stalls right next to the impressive SS Great Britain, all selling decadent chocolate creations. There’s also live music, activities for the kids and a prosecco bar for the adults. What more could you want?

Date: 4^th and 5^th April, 10am - 4.30pm

Cost: Free Entry

Location: Brunel Square, SS Great Britain

Web: www.tastechocolate.co.u

Love Food Spring Festival at Paintworks

When spring is in the air, that’s reason enough for celebration. The Love Food Spring Festival is just that – a celebration of the new season, new growth and fresh, tasty local produce. There are producer stalls, talks on nutrition and some great street food. Try oysters from Oysters on Wheels, a nutrient packed juice from S’juice Me or homemade sausage rolls from Little Jack Horner. There are also events in the summer and autumn.

Date: Sunday 29^th March, 10.30am - 4pm

Cost: Free Entry

Location: Printworks

Web: www.lovefoodfestival.com

Eat Drink Bristol Fashion

It’s definitely an impressive set up for a food festival. Set in Queen Square, Eat Drink Bristol Fashion create a quirky tipi village for the duration of the event. There, you can dip into some British tapas in the Tapas Tipis, or enjoy some fine dining from some of Britain’s top chefs. There’s live music, and a food market on the weekend days.

Date: 29^th April to 10^th May

Cost: Entry is free

Location: Queen Square

Web: www.eatdrinkbristolfashion.co.uk

VegFest Bristol 2015

Vegans often get the short end of the stick when it comes to food festivals. They can trail between stalls but be left with nothing to tantalise the taste buds. This isn’t the case at the renowned VegFest. Hitting Bristol on May 23^rd and 24^th, the festival is a celebration of all things vegan, with all of the food and drink on offer 100% meat and dairy free. There are 140 stalls, nearly 100 talks, entertainment for kids and even gigs in the evenings.

Date: May 23^rd from 11am – 10pm, May 24^th from 11am – 9pm

Cost: £3 before 5pm and £5 after 5pm

Location: The Amphitheatre and Waterfront Square

Web: www.bristol.vegfest.co.uk

Grillstock BBQ and Music Festival

It’s a world away from VegFest, but Grillstock draws huge crowds each year, all looking to indulge in that most summery of foods: real American BBQ. There are dozens of competition BBQ teams who are all after the crown of King of the Grill. The teams compete over seven rounds, wherein they produce BBQ classics like smoked chicken and pulled pork, all of which you can tuck into. There’s top music too, with De La Soul performing on Saturday and Goldie Lookin Chain on the Sunday. Best to wear your elastic waistbands – last year visitors consumed 9 tonnes of meat.

Date: 11^th – 12^th July

Cost: Tickets start at £25

Location: Lloyds Amphitheatre, Bristol Harbourside

Web: www.grillstock.co.uk

All of these festivals can be reached easily from The Bristol Hotel, which is located right on Bristol’s harbourside.

Image courtesy of Bristol Food Connections