The dates for next year’s Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival have been announced.

The event will take place at the Villa Marina Gardens on Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th September, 2016.

This year’s event, which was supported by Shoprite, attracted more than 7,000 visitors and was hailed as the best yet.

Last week, it won the PokerStars award for Public Sector Achievement at Isle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence.

Richard Ronan MHK, Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture, said: ‘As we grow the contribution to the economy made by Isle of Man food and drink, the festival is a wonderful celebration of local produce – both traditional and innovative.

‘We have announced the dates of the 2016 event early so busy food and drink producers, who are important to the success of the festival, can get them in their calendars early.

‘The public, who support the event in such large numbers, can ensure the dates are in their diaries so they don’t miss a fantastic weekend and visitors to the Island can note the dates in planning trips and hopefully pay us a visit to taste the best of Isle of Man food and drink.

‘I’d like to acknowledge the hard work of the organising committee of local producers, who work tirelessly all year round to ensure the event is a success,’ the Minister continued.

‘I look forward to continuing the momentum in 2016.’