Single Market Events (SME) is launching its first Christmas food and drink consumer show in Harrogate this December.
 
The Great Christmas Food and Drink Show will be held at the Harrogate International Centre from 14 to 16 December and is expected to attract 15,000 visitors from across Yorkshire and the region. The organiser has booked halls D and H and will also take advantage of the venue’s 2,000-seat auditorium.
 
SME marketing manager Tom Clarkson told EN the event spun from the organiser’s Love Cooking theatre experience and would allow it to tap into the lucrative Christmas market. Love Cooking ran in London, Bristol, Edinburgh and Harrogate during 2010.
 
“Love Cooking was particularly successful for us in Harrogate but was just a theatre event,” Clarkson explained. “We wanted to come back with a larger event with an exhibition bolted onto it and at Christmas, a time when lots of people are keen to shop and food and drink is incredibly popular.
 
“Love Cooking had synergies with a tour element, which is why we’ve chosen a different brand. We want to tap into the Christmas season and deliver a fun, family-oriented event.”
 
SME is now teeing up food and drink celebrities and industry experts to headline its seminar programme and has already announced chefs James Martin and Mary Berry, and wine expert Oz Clarke.
 
The organiser has also partnered with Delicious Magazine and FoodLovers Britain.
 
In other news, organiser Upper Street Events has launched a Christmas edition of its popular Gadget Show Live at Excel this year.
 
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