THOUSANDS of people are expected to flock to a County Durham castle this weekend for a food festival which is expected to become an annual event.

Perfectly timed as the period of Lent draws to a close and people get ready to treat themselves for Easter, the Wear Valley Food Festival will be held at Auckland Castle, in Bishop Auckland, on Saturday.

The free event has been organised to give local food producers, many of whom are farmers who have diversified, a chance to showcase their businesses and to boost town centre trade.

Cookery demonstrations, family activities and craft stalls will also be held, from 10am to 4pm, to help pull in the crowds and the castle will serve refreshments such as soup and sandwiches.

Castle manager Kim Fryer said: "We've had an even better response from traders than I imagined for the first festival being held here.

"I think there will be something for everyone, food stalls outside, craft stalls inside, family activities and refreshments.

"There will also be guided tours of the castle on Saturday, ahead of opening to the public on Easter Monday, so they can get a free preview of what the castle has to offer and share in the local heritage.

"Hopefully the traders with stalls on the day will profit and the town centre itself will benefit from the visitors the festival generates."

Organisers hope the festival will build on the success of a similar event held at the Bowes Museum, near Barnard Castle, last August, which attracted about 7,000 visitors.

Bishop Auckland town centre manager Derek Toon said: "We already plan to make it an annual event, hopefully held every Easter Saturday.

"I'm hopeful that it will prove very beneficial to the producers who attend and help to bring the town and castle closer together and people move between the two."

The festival is one of the main events on the calendar for food producers from the Dales to promote their goods to local people, restaurants, hotels and shops.

Katrina Palmer, co-ordinator of the food and produce project in Wear Valley and Teesdale, run by Teesdale Marketing Initiative and Wear Valley District Council, hopes the business will grow after the event as local people and major buyers discover what they have to offer.