All the smells, flavours and family fun of the festive season are on the menu at the Taste Cumbria Christmas Festival in Cockermouth this weekend – though the weather forecast mean the organisers are mixing things up a little.

The Met Office’s warnings of gusty winds for Friday means the organisers can’t put up the marquees on Main Street as planned, so instead the cream of the county’s food producers will be setting up their stalls on the street on Saturday morning.

The event will now take place from noon tomorrow (Saturday), with the market staying open into the evening, and then will be open as planned from 10am to 4pm on Sunday. Throughout the weekend there will be a producers’ market, a hot food court with meals and snacks, and children’s fairground rides on Main Street.

The bar, brimming with ales and mulled wine, will move to the Jennings brewery Cooperage, which will be open on Saturday and Sunday, with tours of the brewery on offer too.

There will also be plenty of family activities and festive entertainment, with festive music on Main Street and Christmassy arts and crafts for little foodies organised by Rainbow Jelly Productions. Head to The Vicky, the former Methodist hall behind the red door on High Sand Lane, for the children’s crafts on both Saturday and Sunday.

Event organiser Anna Chippendale of CN Events said: “We’ve never been beaten by the weather in Cockermouth so we were determined the festival would go ahead. What’s frustrating is that the weather forecast is actually pretty good for the weekend – we’re even expecting sunshine on Sunday – but our marquee specialists just can’t take the risk with the public safety, or the surrounding buildings, when the gusts are still strong.

“We can’t thank our traders enough for their support and we hope everyone who visits also takes the time to visit Cockermouth’s amazing range of independent businesses. This is such a great town to eat, drink, shop and explore.”

Tomorrow, local traders will also be pushing the plastic-free message with a pop-up shop in The Hub in Market Place where food, toiletries and more will be available.

There’s also the chance for festival visitors to win a hamper of goodies worth £1,500 in a massive prize draw thanks to the input of the town’s independent businesses. They can enter the draw for free by filling in a slip in participating shops, cafes and restaurants.

Taste Cumbria in Cockermouth has fantastic local support. This year the festival is organised in association with Allerdale Borough Council and Taste Cumbria and Cumbria Life magazines. Its main sponsors are Jennings Brewery, Cockermouth Town Council and The Coffee Kitchen.