PURTON folk will have their appetites for a new village café whetted at the weekend with a festival of food.

The event in the village hall on Saturday is raising money for the local Women’s Institute and the Pips Community Café, which is nearing completion after several years of effort.

Food producers from the area with be setting out their stalls with their tastiest wares, from sweets and cakes to locally reared meats.

One of the organisers, Helen Dixon, said: “It is a way of getting people together in the village.”

It was also a good time to stage the event because people were starting to think about Christmas and presents.

The café, which will be based in Purton Club is not far off completion. A kitchen has been built and once it is up and running it will be staffed mainly by volunteers. “All being well we will be opening early in the New Year,” said Helen.

Once open it will provide somewhere for people in Purton to get together for a cup of barista coffee and a natter as well as providing a showcase for local arts and crafts.

“We have lost a shop and we haven’t got as many pubs as we used to have,” she said. Not everyone wanted to go to a pub, including people like small business owners who needed somewhere to meet with clients or young mothers who wanted somewhere to go for a cuppa.

The festival includes craft stalls and refreshments and runs from noon to 4pm. Admission for over 16s is £1.