Lakes Hospitality Trade Show supports local events with cash boost

Several of the county’s most popular annual events have received a cash boost from the Lakes Hospitality Trade Show.

The two-day, not-for-profit event returns to the Rural Auction Centre near Kendal for its 47th year in February.  

Organisers of Amblefest, Keswick Film Festival, Muncaster Castle Sausage Festival and the Westmorland Dales Festival will each receive marketing grants of £2,000 directly from the show’s proceeds to help publicise their upcoming events. 

This year marks the return of the scheme for the first time since before the pandemic and is part of the Lakes Hospitality Trade Show’s commitment to redirecting financial proceeds back into the local economy. 

To qualify for the funding, applicants planning an event between March 2024 and February 2025 were asked to demonstrate how their events will benefit the Cumbrian economy and achieve significant visitor impact for the county.   

Each of the successful applicants will now benefit from a package of PR and marketing activity delivered by Cumbria Tourism’s industry experts to promote their event. 

James Tasker, a director of the Lakes Hospitality Association said: “One of the underlying principles of the Lakes Hospitality Show is about ploughing money back into the industry, so we can help give businesses and supply chain companies the practical support they need to thrive in challenging economic times.  

“Amblefest and Muncaster’s Sausage Festival are fantastic new events, both in their second year, and we hope this contribution will help them to grow and prosper for the benefit not only of our economy, but our local communities too. 

“Meanwhile, the Westmorland Dales Festival and Keswick Film Festival have proved to be a massive success in recent years and continue to grow. We want to do our bit to help them reach new audiences and get to the next level.” 

The 47th Lakes Hospitality Trade Show takes place on Wednesday 28th and Thursday 29th February and will feature over 150 exhibitors alongside live cooking demonstrations, expert advice and industry networking. 

Exhibitor stands will range from catering equipment, and food and drink suppliers, to IT technology, transport, furnishings, visitor attractions and professional services such as insurance, legal and financial support.