Our friends from Les Herbiers are joining us again this year for the eighth time at the Newtown Twinning marquee FRENCH VILLAGE 6th and 7th September 2025.
https://www.newtownfoodfestival.org.uk
As many of you are aware Le Comite de Jumelage Pays des Herbiers have contributed to our Food Festival for the last 7 years bringing a fine selection of Vendee food and wine products for Newtown People to enjoy.
This year our FRENCH VILLAGE is returning. We are offering all the same popular products again selling a wide variety of Vendee and French wines and food.
A French Cafe atmosphere will be provided in and outside our marquee with tables and seating to relax and enjoy the products. French organic wine by the glass at a very reasonable price will be on offer with nibbles such as olives: pretzels and other snacks. Our friends from Les Herbiers will also be offering small plates of Vendee cheeses and Meats, with local Sourdough Baguette to enjoy with your glass of wine.
An opportunity to taste and purchase fine wines with local Vendee and French regional reds, whites and aperitifs, all provided by Les Herbiers.
We will also be supporting Newtown businesses selling some of their excellent products to enjoy in the French bar.
It’s also an opportunity for you to meet the Newtown Twinning Association and to find out what we have planned for the future and also to talk to NTA about any ideas you may have for links between organisations or possible projects in the future.
www.newtowntwinning.co.uk
Join us from 6.00 pm in Hafan yr Afon for a glass of wine and Tapas platter and meet other Twinning followers before viewing our Third French film of 24-25 series on the first floor of Hafan at 7.15pm.
We will be running our Third film and social event of the 2024-25 programme on Friday, 21st of February 2025. Tickets are £10.00 pp, which will include a glass of French wine or a soft drink accompanied by a tapas platter supplied by Hafan. https://www.hafanyrafon.com/
The cafe AND BAR at Hafan will also be open at 6.00 pm FOR YOU TO BUY FOOD OR DRINK from the Hafan menu such as coffee and cakes, larger meals, and other drinks prior to the film showing on the first floor at 7.15pm. Newtown Twinning will also be selling additional glasses of white or red organic wine from the region of our twin town at £3.00 per glass.
This is also an opportunity to meet and discuss our future events.
The evening is open to all. We would love to have your company so please join us for our social and enjoy the film:
‘Beautiful but pious sisters Martine (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodil Kjer) grow to spinsterhood under the wrathful eye of their strict pastor father on the forbidding and desolate coast of Jutland, until one day, Philippa’s former suitor sends a Parisian refugee named Babette (Stéphane Audran) to serve as the family cook. Babette’s lavish celebratory banquet tempts the family’s dwindling congregation, who abjure such fleshly pleasures as fine foods and wines.’
The film will be shown with English subtitles on the first floor at Hafan yr Afon from 7.15pm https://www.facebook.com/hafanyrafon/
If you would like to pre-book and pay for this evening in advance then please visit the Hafan website at the address below. You can also pay cash at the door for this event if you prefer. https://www.hafanyrafon.com/what-s-on
We have been invited to visit Les Herbiers in 2025 for an International Beer Festival. We have just received confirmation of the Beer festival date from Les Herbiers as Saturday 5th April 2025.
The event will be held in the Herbauges exhibition hall in Les Herbiers with Brewers attending from the other Twin Towns with Les Herbiers. Coria in southern central Spain, Liebertwolkwitz near Liepzig Germany, Les Herbiers / Nantes and Welsh Montgomeryshire Brewers.
It’s obviously difficult for Les Herbiers Twinning to arrange such an event with other towns from different countries involved, so we have to run with the date they have given of the 5th of April.
We already have two local Breweries showing interest and keen to join us, Monty’s and Bragdy Tanat. We are keen to support our local breweries and we hope the visit will be useful to the Brewers both financially and in an exchange of craftsmanship and ideas.
We are currently looking at leaving Newtown on Wednesday the 2nd of April 2025 and returning on the Tuesday 8th April, however the exact times and dates will depend on a number of factors such as Ferry crossings and any further information we receive from Les Herbiers.
As the Beer Festival is only to be held on the Saturday, we would like to take a leisurely sightseeing journey through France and a more relaxing ferry crossing from Portsmouth St Malo overnight crossing on the outward journey and an overnight crossing again on the return from Caen both with cabins. This also gives us time in Les Herbiers to visit other nearby attractions such as La Rochelle or one of the local Islands such as Noirmoutier.
Unfortunately, the dates of this visit will be during school term times making it difficult for those working and anybody involved in education.
If you are interested in joining us on this visit, please keep these dates free.
More details regarding this 2025 visit will follow and we will keep you informed of all updates.
Beer Festival Trip Application form and details:
Beer Festival Trip Application form and details.PDF
Beer Festival Trip Itinerary.PDF
Pre-Visit and Beer Tasting evening at Hafan yr Afon 26th March 2025
Travel Check list suggestions: Beer Festival Visit April 2025
Newtown Twinning and Owens Travel do not provide Personal Travel Insurance so we would recommend that you arrange your own insurance for the duration of our visit.
We would advise you to bring your UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) – you can apply through the NHS website which should take up to 15 days to arrive.
Your food and accommodation are provided by your host during our visit although we would recommend you bring Euros Cash and use a Global money card which can be obtained through your bank and will be free of any transaction fees abroad.
We would advise you that a Gift for your host is recommended and if not expected is the normal practice in gratitude for their hospitality. We suggest a gift with a Welsh theme or origin.
You are invited to join our ‘Trip Group album’ for the purpose of sharing photos during the visit. Please seriously consider this as NTA use photos/videos as a record of the visit to highlight our work and successes for future projects and visits. We normally create a power point or video of our visits which we share at our future events. A member of the NTA committee will approach you during the first leg of the journey to show you how to join and upload photos etc.
As we will be staying with host families and travelling to French Towns and Cities then we advise for the purpose of health and safety and welfare issues that you share your mobile number with our Secretary who will be the lead and point of contact for any incidents during our visit.
During our Friday Gala Dinner in Mouchamps, the meal is provided, however please bring cash or card which is required for your drinks during evening.
You may need to take out an 8 day European Roaming pass to limit your mobile phone charges in France. Please enquire with your provider.
Any Questions regarding the Trip or the Programme can be raised at our Pre-meet and tasting evening for Beer Festival visit held on the 26th March 2025 at 19:00 hrs at Hafan Yr Afon.
If you have any questions please contact the Secretary at: newtowntwinning@gmail.com.
Details of the Montgomeryshire Brewers Monty’s and Bragdy Tanat who are joining us on the Beer Festival visit to Les Herbiers.
