After the success of its summer run at Temple Arches, and selling out Oktoberfest and Halloween events, Chow Down is back with ‘Winter Arches’.
For 7 weeks, Temple Arches will be transformed to offer a wide range of drinks, food vendors and entertainment in the festive spirit of things.
Four seating areas with heaters will welcome visitors – a covered hall, the Winter Snugs, the Winter Pergola and the Stretch Tent – for boozy hot chocolate, winter cocktails, mulled wine and steins of beer. There’ll be five food traders (2 traders throughout, with 3 changing weekly) with diverse offerings as well as a headline DJ each week, alongside brass bands and Chow Down’s Christmas House Band and Choir.
Table service to your designated space will ensure safe distancing, in compliance with COVID regulations. Chow Down works hard to ensure this is one of the safest spaces you can visit.
Bookings open on 5th November. Choose from two ticket types – Normal or Snug Booth when the booking link goes live – https://chowdownevents.co.uk/
Simon Fogal, who runs Chapter 81, Leeds Indie Food and is co-founder of Chow Down:
“Chow Down became a safe haven for people after the initial lockdown, with its huge outdoor area being the first place many people visited. With some it was the only place they had visited. 99.8% of the summer Chow Down visitors surveyed voted the site super safe, and we prioritise visitor and staff safety throughout, from food ordering to designated spaces, sanitisation stations, cleaning patrols and tables having more space.“
Simon explained that the Chow Down team has worked hard to ensure that Chow Down complies with and even exceeds current restrictions and safety advice.
“Winter Arches will bring more emphasis to the drink and entertainment side, but the food will remain stellar, with 3 rotating food traders each week, and a couple of permanent stalwarts. It wouldn’t be a winter market without proper sausage and hot desserts, but we are also bringing back some of the traders from Chow Down’s summer run, as well as a couple of new ones.”
Matt Long, who runs New Citizens, and co-founder of Chow Down said:
“It has been a rollercoaster of a ride, with ever changing rules and regulations, but we are proud to reveal the Winter Arches concept. We have invested heavily in the site to allow for further restrictions (if and when) but also to allow us to further adapt should restrictions be lifted. We want to make it the best we can, whilst supporting as many people as we can.”
Chow Down and Winter Arches is brought to you by New Citizens, Leeds Indie Food and Chapter 81.
Photograph by Jo Ritchie.
