Newtown Twinning Association are organising a return to the Jum Regal International Food Festival which will be held in our Twin Town in December 2018. At the last Jum Regal Newtown Twinning Association sold over £4000.00 of Montgomeryshire food and drink products!!
This year in December we are returning for the Jum Regal Christmas Food Fair. We are hoping to persuade local producers to accompany us and we are planning a large Welsh Christmas. This is a great opportunity to promote and sell Welsh / Montgomeryshire Food, drink and craft products on an international stage.
There will be opportunities for Newtown people to join us on this visit and enjoy the international Food fair in our Twin town. Not only a Welsh winter fair but also products from Southern Spain, Germany and France lots to enjoy and stock up for the Christmas period.
If you are a local producer and would like to get involved in this Christmas Welsh Fair, please contact us at: newtowntwinning@gmail.com
Please see all the details of our visit below with a full itinerary, costs, and details of our visit, along with the application form found at the bottom of this page.
Click on Flyer Images below to open a larger version in a new window:
“Ouest France newspaper cover of the forthcoming Jum Regal event in Les Herbiers and compare the Christmas traditions in Wales, France and Germany.”
Another French Newspaper Article:
Reasons For Getting Out Of The House This Weekend
A Food Festival, Footy, A Concert Of Choral Music & Basketball Are On The Programme This Weekend In the Surrounding Area
[Photo Caption] “Marie-Thé and Christine Bibard from the Les Herbiers Area Twinning Committee, either side of Jean-Luc Godet, Vice-President of the Community Communes.
Gastronomy
Would you like to discover Welsh and German culinary specialities without crossing and borders? The Second edition of the Jum’régal Festival takes place this Saturday (from 10am to 11pm) at the Espace Herbauges in Les Herbiers. The towns twinned with the Town of Les Herbiers will be given pride of place. Thirty residents of Newtown (Wales) and eight from Liebertwolkwitz (Germany) will make the trip over to us.
In total, 30 producers from the three towns will offer unlimited access to tasting sessions. And if the children’s workshops are free, then you’ll have to dig deep into your pockets for the dæmonology (note from Paul: yes, that is what the text says, but I am sure they meant Œnologie , which means œnology or wine-tasting in English – there was definitely no conjuring of any kind at the event!) (at 11am and 3pm), the Welsh Teatime Café (at 4pm!) and the dinner dance.
Saturday, from 10 in the morning till 11pm at the Espace Herbauges in Les Herbiers. For reservations call 06 06 63 54 14 or reserve your place at the workshops on the day. Fee 20€ or 10€ for under 12 years of age.
County Times coverage:
Seren Hafren Newspaper Article:
Jum Regal Event Photos:
- Meeting Students and Staff NPTC Newtown
We were very pleased to have the opportunity of supporting NPTC students on their Enterprise scheme for the second time. Students at NPTC were required to apply for a place on the visit to support Newtown Twinning with the sales of Montgomeryshire products at the Jum Regal. Students were also required to sell their own products made at NPTC Newtown such as Christmas cakes, Puddings and Crackers. Members of Newtown Twinning took part in the interview process and 10 successful candidates were selected for the visit. Newtown Twinning also visited the College before the visit to discuss the trip with Students, staff and parents. Newtown Twinning Association will be writing a letter of thanks to all the students for their help and support with the Jum Regal event.
- Friday Morning Visit to Mont-St-Michel:
We arrived at 7.00am in Caen after our overnight crossing from Portsmouth and visited Mont-St-Michel. It was a glorious day for lunch at the UNESCO world Heritage Site on the way to Les Herbiers. A fantastic day as you can see and a great time for our visit as we had it virtually to ourselves! It was a great opportunity to explore one of Europe’s most unforgettable sights and catch a bite to eat both for those on a return visit and for those visiting for the first time. We all appreciated the new bridge which preserves its exceptional surroundings. The Mont-Saint-Michel Bay has been prone to silting up in the last couple of centuries. Actions by man, including farming and the building of a causeway to the island monastery, have added to this problem. A major campaign has ensured that the Mont-Saint-Michel preserves its maritime character and remains an island. The main river into the bay, the Couesnon, for example, is being left to flow more freely so that sediments are washed out to sea.
- Arrival in Les Herbiers and Reception at The Town Hall Friday evening:
We attended a welcome event at the impressive new Hôtel des Communes (Community of Municipalities offices) which was built as an extension of the Herbiers City Hall, a mid-19th century mansion situated in the Public Park. Our party was introduced to their hosts and tudents and staff from NPTC were shown to La Louisiere and introduced to their accommodation. We all spent the evening with our host families.
- Saturday Jum Regal event:
Newtown Twinning members and students from NPTC spent the day in the Espace Herbauges selling produce from Montgomeryshire such as Christmas cakes, Christmas puddings, Bara Brith, Welsh cakes, Chocolates, Cordial, Seasonal crafts (Please see the Producers list below). We were also joined by Mrs Jillian Hill and Rachel Elizabeth Hills representing Montgomeryshire Bee Keepers Association and Miss Danielle Toni Thomas from Monty’s Brewery who were selling their own products. A display and the centrepiece of the event demonstrated the differences at a Christmas table in France, Germany and Wales with descriptions of the different traditions that take place in the 3 countries at Christmas.
We were also treated to a performance by Musique Actuelle who recently visited Newtown for the Music Festival.
The Montgomeryshire Producers supported at the Jum Regal: Monty’s Montgomery; Montgomeryshire Bee Keepers Association; Ash and Elm Horticulture; Club Sport; Fuze; Glanhafren centre; Coco Pzazz; Radnor Preserves; Cultivate; High Street Deli; Knit and natter; Tan y Castell; Morgan’s Brew; Sarah Bunton Chocolatier; Penrhiw pottery; Country Living; The Fabric Shop; Bloomers; Newtopia; No.1 HS; Lychgate Cottage Tearoom & Deli; Catering dept. NPTC; Llanfair Light Railway.
- Saturday Gala Dinner and dance:
All involved with the Jum Regal were invited to a Gala Dinner and Dance after a long day of selling, German, French and Welsh! A truly international event! The evening started with a 4 course meal (see menu) and presentations were made with short speeches. Kevin Wilson the Dep. Chair of Newtown Twinning Association presented Marie-The the President of Les Herbiers Twinning with a gift of a set of handmade Jugs from Penrhiw pottery with the Red Kite logo to represent Powys. (See photo). We were entertained by Musique Actuelle and Newton Brown the staff member leading the NPTC party was invited to take part and played the keyboard which was a pleasant surprise.
After the dinner we all joined in the very popular dancing with a local DJ for the remainder of the evening. Thanks to Paul we have our performances on record, please see the videos beow !
- Sunday visit to La Rochelle and Lunch at Bar Lili
We started our trip with glorious weather on the Friday in Mont-St-Michel; however we ended the trip with rain! We were all invited by Ghislain Siadeau and his business partner Julien Caillaud to their Bar/Bistro, Bar Lili, Just try to imagine sun instead of drizzle! Ghislain and Julien came to the Newtown Food Festival in Sept 2017, but sadly due to their commitment with their new venture, they were unable to come this year. Our day was certainly brightened by a wonderful meal and good company at Bar Lili! We plan to return!
NPTC Student Presentations
Certificates being presented to NPTC Newtown Students selected to be Student Ambassadors and join the NTA visit to the JUM REGAL Christmas Food Fair held in Les Herbiers in December 2018. The students were required to make a written application and were interviewed for a place on the Twinning visit.
The Newtown Twinning Association party along with Monty’s Beer and Montgomeryshire Bee Keepers Association took a wide range of food and drink products to sell at the Jum Regal Chistmas market where they were joined by both French and German producers and products. The students were accompanied by two staff members of NPTC Newton Brown Soraya Glyn.
Susan Hill the Deputy Mayor of Newtown and Llanwchaiarn Town Council presented the students with their certificates. Steve Cass campus head NPTC and Kevin Wilson Deputy Chair of Newtown Twinning Association spoke about the importance of taking on new challenges and experiences as a means to personal development.
