Cirencester Spring FEASTival

A sunny weekend market that brought Cirencester to life

We headed into Cirencester for the Spring FEASTival this weekend and, to be fair, the weather was doing its best to make everyone look good.

Blue skies, bright sun, the church towering over Market Place, and a square full of people who looked very happy to be exactly where they were. Sometimes that is half the battle with an event like this. This time, though, the event itself more than held up.

First impressions

The first thing we noticed was that people were not just drifting through.

They were staying.

Standing around chatting, singing along to the live music, dancing, and settling in properly rather than doing a quick lap and heading home.

There were families eating from the street food stalls, couples out together, people with their dogs, and plenty of others doing that very British thing of quietly claiming the end of a bench next to complete strangers because there was music playing and lunch in hand and nobody much minded.

That, more than anything, was the feel of it. Relaxed, sociable, and easy.

What was there

The stalls looked busy throughout the afternoon.

On the food side there was plenty going on, including Real Greek, Burrito Bar, samosas, the English and German Sausage Bar with loaded fries, the Cafeteria van, the Thainese tent, and a brownie stall, all of which seemed to be doing a decent trade.

We had already had brunch earlier in the day, so this was not a full scale eat our way around the square situation, but the food smelled excellent and the portions looked generous. If we were doing it again, we would arrive hungry.

The sausage and fries stall looked especially tempting, and the Burrito Bar was another one we would happily have made a beeline for. The sausage stall also seemed to have the longest queue, though the queues in general moved quickly enough that nothing felt off putting.

We ended up buying sweets from the sweet stall and English fudge from the fudge stand, which felt like a fairly restrained outcome for a spring market.

My seventeen year old son also bought a Disney Cars bucket hat from one of the stalls, which was objectively ridiculous and naturally one of the highlights of the day.

I would love to share the photo of him wearing it. I would also like to stay alive, so that will remain a private victory.

The atmosphere

What worked especially well was the fact that the event did not feel shut off from the town around it.

It brought people into Cirencester and made it easy to wander a little further, which is part of the appeal when these events are done well.

One of the nicest parts of the day, oddly enough, was being reminded of parts of the town centre I had not properly looked at in years.

I had not really been down Black Jack Street for what must be the best part of twenty years, and wandering through there again, then into Swan Yard, was a pleasant surprise. There were coffee shops, independent bookshops, a traditional sweet shop, and corners of town I either did not know existed or had long since stopped noticing.

It felt far more alive and appealing than parts of town that ought to be the obvious draw, but felt oddly quiet by comparison.

And that is probably the real strength of an event like this.

It is not just about the stalls themselves. It is about what they do for the town for a day. They bring people in, get them lingering, get them eating and chatting, and discovering places they might otherwise walk straight past.

Why it worked

The live music gave the square a focal point without taking over, and it was lovely to see people simply enjoying being out together with something free, cheerful, and easy to drop into.

As an annual event, it also feels like exactly the sort of thing worth keeping an eye out for each spring. It is easy to drop into, suits families, couples, dog walkers, and casual wanderers equally well, and works whether you want lunch, a browse, or simply an excuse to spend a bit more time in town.

Our takeaway was simple enough.

People looked happy to be there, and Cirencester suited it.

In summary

The Spring FEASTival felt like exactly the sort of event Market Place does well.

Good weather certainly helped, but so did the mix of food, music, stalls, and people actually staying long enough to enjoy it. It felt lively without being hectic, family friendly without feeling overly stage managed, and sociable in a way that made the whole town centre feel better for it.

It is free, easy to enjoy, and best approached with an appetite.

The sort of event that starts as a quick wander and turns into rather more of an afternoon than you planned.