Popular country fair returns to the Cotswolds for its biggest ever event this summer

This summer sees the return of the Cotswold Show and Food Festival, bringing a fun-packed weekend of thrilling displays, country pursuits, shopping and tasty treats to Cirencester Park in July 2023.

By Sarah Kent | Published Wednesday 7 June 2023

Expect equestrian displays and high-speed carriage races at this year's Cotswold Show and Food Festival in July 2023.

This year's programme will showcase some of the most exciting displays Gloucestershire has to offer at Cirencester Park.

There's children's entertainment and activities across the whole two days, Saturday 1 and Sunday 2 July 2023.

The National Association for Retired Service Animals is putting on an exciting canine display.

Vehicle enthusiasts can enjoy farm and train models on display.

This summer’s Cotswold Show and Food Festival offers something for the whole family when it returns to Cirencester Park from Saturday 1 to Sunday 2 July 2023.

The show is one of the largest annual family country fairs in Gloucestershire – and this year's event looks set to be its biggest yet.

For the first time this year, the Lightning Bolts Army Parachute Display Team, which was formed in the 1960s and is made up of serving military personnel from the Corps of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers, is putting on an adrenaline-pumping freefall performance.

With jumps starting at a hair-raising 8,000 feet above ground, the team is aiming to land directly into the main Bathurst arena, with the chance for audiences to meet the parachutists after the display to find out all the tips and tricks on jumping from the skies.

And if the paratroopers weren't excitement enough for the weekend, the Squib Freestyle Motocross Team is zooming into a stunt display, with bikers speeding up 60-foot-high ramps in this year's white-knuckle event.

For equestrian lovers, master trainer Ben Atkinson and his liberty horses are putting on an outstanding new riding show, alongside a fast-paced scurry driving pony race.

Some of these events are returning to the county for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, so visitors can expect some new and exciting elements this year.

For food fans, the show’s Food Festival, complete with a live Cookery Theatre for foodie demonstrations, is crammed full of a huge range of delicious produce and beverages to sample and purchase, including charcuterie, cheeses from around the world, artisan bakes, flavoured gins, ice creams, homemade pies, ciders, truffles, scotch eggs, champagne and sweet treats.