A FEAST of entertainment and a family atmosphere helped make Suffolk's newest festival a great success, organisers said last night.

Jonathan Barnes

A FEAST of entertainment and a family atmosphere helped make Suffolk's newest festival a great success, organisers said last night.

About 10,000 people enjoyed the Harvest at Jimmy's music and food festival over the weekend.

The two-day event at Jimmy's Farm, in Wherstead, near Ipswich, began in glorious sunshine on Saturday as top names in music and food performed live, with entertainment for the whole family.

The skies were greyer yesterday as the temperatures dropped, but the event did not lose its momentum.

Brit Award-winning singer KT Tunstall brought the music to a close last night with a crowd-pleasing headline set, featuring her hit songs Suddenly I See, Other Side Of The World and Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, along with a track from her forthcoming new album.

She topped a stellar music bill that included Athlete, who topped the bill on Saturday night, Badly Drawn Boy, Seth Lakeman, Jose Gonzalez and rising Suffolk rockers The Cheek.

Top chefs including James Martin, Rachel Allen, Gennaro Contaldo, Chris Gates and Gino D'Acampo held live cooking demonstrations and chefs from Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant took over a barn to give masterclasses in making pizzas and pasta.

There was a special treat for children with a brightly-coloured tent devoted to hit BBC show In The Night Garden, featuring story-telling, games and dressing-up. Youngsters also enjoyed treasure hunts, animal tours, den building and a pirate adventure. All the farm's everyday attractions - the Butterfly House, the rare breed pigs and cattle, nature trails and play park - were all busy as well.

Last night, Jimmy Doherty, who owns the farm which featured in the popular BBC2 series, said: "It's been an amazing couple of days, a real family feel and the atmosphere was amazing. The bands and the chefs have been great.

"We're really determined to make it an annual event and a real boost for the local economy."

The weekend provided a showcase for a host of local food and drink producers, who held stalls and tents to show off their wares.

The Aspalls tent proved incredibly popular while festival-goers also got to try Jimmy's Farm's special Harvest sausage.

The weekend had sold-out long before the event but some tickets were held back for those coming on the day.

Among Saturday's highlights was KT Tunstall making a guest appearance with folk singer Sam Lewis.

Guitarist Jon Allen was a a revelation with his chilled, laid back sounds, while Badly Drawn Boy got the crowd moving with some well-known tunes.

Classical guitarist Jose Gonzalez amazed the crowd with some flawless vocals, captivating the crowd with hits such as Heartbeats and a cover of Massive Attack's Teardrop, before Athlete took Saturday through to a thrilling climax with their festival-friendly anthems.

FESTIVAL FACTS:

n Around one-and-a-half tonnes of sausages were cooked.

n There were 18 hog roasts.

n Revellers drank 30,000 pints of beer and cider.

n There were 4,400 toilet rolls.

n 70 volunteers helped at the event.

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