The Valleys are getting festive

Festive FaCE is returning to Blaenau Gwent

Blaenau Gwent’s food and culture festival is taking place this November to kick off the festive season.

The team behind Blaenau Gwent’s first ever food and culture festival, Valleys FaCE, decided in October last year to launch a Christmas version of the popular event. The festival has returned for a second year following the success of last season.

Festive FaCE, which takes place on the 29 and 30 November, is expected to draw in around 10,000 visitors to the Ebbw Vale Festival Park.

Managing director of Tudor Brewery in Llanhilleth, Jaime Devin, is one of FaCE’s founding members.

He said, “We want to give people the chance to show off their business, no matter how small, and showcase the talent the valleys has to offer.”

Visitors can expect to see a variety of vendors at this year’s festival, from award winning pies to artisan bread

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWgwTe01kMU[/youtube]

Get into the festive spirit with Slade: Merry Christmas Everyone

The festival promotes lots of craft stalls, jam producers and many other local products, including produce made from local honey

Look out for:

Miss Daisy’s Kitchen

Miss Daisy’s Kitchen is a family orientated business run by Daisy and supported by her husband Matt.

Frustrated with her career in HR, Daisy pitched her jam making hobby to the FaCE team. With no real branding or business accruement, Daisy was invited to showcase her produce at the Valley’s FaCE in May 2014.

Her husband Matt sorted out labels and suppliers whilst Daisy sourced jars and trialled new ideas to friends. It was through the FaCE festival in May that Miss Daisy’s Kitchen was established.

Since then, Miss Daisy’s continues to grow and are now stocked by the MunchBox in Festival Park, with a few more shops in the pipeline.

This year Miss Daisy’s Kitchen has created Christmas hampers for the Festive FaCE Christmas event.

Fire Fab metal art by Chris Lane.

Chris has been a fabricator since leaving school but always wanted to do something more creative. Returning from a trip to Euro Disney he felt inspired to create a castle play house for his daughter.

“I made her one complete with Tinkerbell flying around the tower,” Chris said. This lead to several more Disney inspired projects.

Over the last few years Chris has been experimenting with various additional creative projects in metal art.

November will be his first time showcasing at a FaCE event. Check out his Facebook page for a sneak preview.

Edith J Designs

A sewing and design business based in Ebbw Vale run by Kerrie Burge.

Edith J Designs make fabric pictures, hoop art, accessories and gifts. The simple designs are created using hand stitching, embroidery and needle felting. Each design is produced using organic cotton, locally sourced wool and vintage or re-cycled materials.

Edith J Designs was launched at the first Valleys FaCE event in 2013. This year they will be offering a bespoke service of English and Welsh personalised gifts.

If you can’t wait until Festive FaCE take a look on the website, or follow on Facebook and Pinterest.