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July 2025 Page 11 AD SALES 01204 478812 CULINARY legend and Michelin-starred chef, Marco Pierre White, will headline Saturday at this summer’s Bolton Food and Drink Festival. It will be his first ever appearance at the UK’s big- gest event of its kind, as the festival celebrates its mile- stone 20th anniversary. Taking place from Friday August 22 to Monday August 25, the free festival is set to deliver a spectacular showcase of street food, top chef demon- strations, live entertainment and family-friendly fun. Marco Pierre White – the youngest chef to ever earn three Michelin stars and a true icon of British Star chef’s foodie date Headliner: Marco PierreWhite Flashback: The festival has a recipe for fun Top attraction: TV chef James Martin in action SUMMER’S here and it’s time to enjoy some fun and (hopefully) sun! With the school holidays looming here are some suggestions to help make it a break to remember. And, as we highlight on these pages, there’s lots to look forward to when it comes to events to keep the whole family entertained this summer. community and school gar- den competition. Caroline Wolfenden, direc- tor of change and delivery at Chorley Council said “We are delighted to be welcoming a fabulous line-up of special guests to Astley Park for this year’s Chorley Flower Show. “The variety of special guests brings something for everyone, with well-known names from the world of music, TV, radio, books and design which will attract new audiences to the show, plus of course fabulous horticultural experts who are firm favour- ites of show visitors.” Martin Fish, Jill Fish and Jonathan Moseley will be returning to the show sharing their knowledge and top tips with visitors throughout the three days of the show, in The Potting Shed Garden Theatre. Visitors can enjoy a vari- ety of talks and demonstra- tions including ‘from plot to plate’ and ‘blooming mar- vellous flowers’, plus have the opportunities to ask the experts questions. Tickets are available from chorleyflowershow.com/tickets , Malcolm’s Musicland (Chapel Street, Chorley town centre) and the Astley Hall Gift Shop (openWednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays 11am to 3pm). Let’s Make Summertime Special! THE countdown is on to this year’s Blackrod Scarecrow Festival – one of the highlights of the summer season. This year’s fun family com- munity event takes place on Saturday July 5 and Sunday July 6. The festival’s 32-page pro- gramme filled with colourful information is on sale in the village and the community is hard at work with this year’s scarecrow creations. The first festival took place back in 2007 and it has grown into a much- loved event attracting visitors to the village from far and wide. One of the new events last year was the Blackrod Scare- crow 10k race, with a route taking in the village and the surrounding countryside. Blackrod Library hosted a scarecrow picnic to celebrate the weekend of family fun. The 2004 entries included a scarecrow choir, the England Euro 24 team and Sponge- Bob SquarePants. Speaking before the event a festival spokesperson said: “A team of volunteers are work- ing their little straw hats off in the background to make Straw poll reveals festival will be a hit Character building: Past entries have included SuperMario (Photo credit: BSF) Show’s guests line-up blossoms Presenter: JB Gill will be at the show (Photo credit: Chorley Council) A LINE-UP of special guests has been announced for this summer’s Chorley Flower Show. JB Gill, who rose to fame as a member of JLS, one of the UK’s biggest boybands, will be heading to Astley Park on Sunday July 27. Now a presenter, author and musician, JB currently presents on the One Show, Winter/Springtime on the Farm and Cooking with the Gills with his family. Having set up a farm many years ago, JB is also an established member of the farming community and recently published his second children’s book. He is also well-known for reached the final of Strictly Come Dancing in 2024 with his partner Lauren. JB will be giving a talk to visitors from 11.30am, fol- lowed by a Q&A, and a read- ing and book signing from one of his books for children in The Potting Shed Gar- den Theatre. British interior and fashion designer, influencer and final- ist on BBC TV show ‘Interior Design Masters’, Siobhan Murphy, will be creating a showstopping floral installa- tion and ultimate Instagram moment ‘Petal Couture’ for the show. Siobhan will be at the show all three days, also giving lively, joy-filled talks all about embracing maximalism, the power of colour, and finding your unique design voice. Broadcasting live from the show on Friday July 25 (until 1pm) BBC Radio Lancashire’s Sharon Hartley will talk to those involved and visitors, as well as getting involved as one of the judges of the this year’s event even bigger and better.” Bolton West’s MP Phil Brickell was among the vis- itors and shared his photos from the festival on social media. He said: “It was fan- tastic to see such creative flair! Thank you to all the hard-working volunteers who make this event happen every year.” Marco said: “Food has always been about more than just ingredients – it’s about people, passion and bringing communities together. “It’s a real privilege to be part of this year’s Bolton Food and Drink Festival, especially as it celebrates its 20th anniversary. “Moments like these remind us why we fell in love with food in the first place. I’m looking forward to sharing that joy with fellow food lovers in Bolton.” Festival favourite James Martin will also be returning for his 15th year at the event. gastronomy – will take cen- tre stage on Saturday August 23, hosting two live cookery demos at 11am and 1pm, fol- lowed by a Q&A session and Ploughman’s lunch at 3pm. Audiences will get the opportunity to see the acclaimed chef in action, shar- ing his signature techniques, stories, and culinary wisdom in a rare live appearance.