Let The Fun Be Gin at Wilton Shopping Village
Gin is certainly still in and this weekend, Wilton Shopping Village capitalised on this trend by holding its second gin festival.
Bringing together a number of local gin bars, distilleries and locally sourced food, the event saw the site’s pretty courtyard transformed into an outdoor bar with a summer festival vibe featuring live music, bean bags and even a bespoke 2Sisters Design ‘selfie wall’.
The offering was strong, with each visitor receiving a branded gin glass, gin bible and goodie bag. They also had the chance to hone their very own cocktail-making skills by creating ‘The Wilton’ at a number of sell-out gin masterclasses throughout the day. Gin-themed gifts (and marmalades!) were enjoyed by shoppers who visited independent retailers Chalke House Emporium and The Courtyard Marketplace.
The packed-to-the-rafters event certainly went down well with visitors – including a group returning from last year to celebrate a special 30th birthday as well as new visitors who travelled especially from Southampton.
Customers on Facebook commented:
“The gins were amazing as was the cocktail masterclass with Josh, who had created the Wilton Gin Festival cocktail, and very nice it was too!”
“Congratulations on another amazing gin festival.”
“It was brilliant, can’t wait to do it all again next year.”
“We had a fab time and made some new gin loving friends. Will be back next year for sure!”
Discussing the event, Wilton Village Shopping’s Marketing Manager, Fiona Spear commented:
“This year’s gin festival couldn’t have gone any better, with many visitors saying that they can’t wait to join us again next year.”
“Quality food and drink events like this are fantastic for encouraging new visitors to us from outside of our usual catchment, while also providing a vehicle for increasing all important increased dwell time to benefit our retail partners.”
Currently, Wilton Shopping Village has two permanent food and drink retailers – the Cobbs Market Café, which provides a changing seasonal menu of tasty home-made, locally sourced and fresh food and The Village Restaurant & Tearoom, a 170-cover venue serving cream teas and a wide selection of meals, soups, sandwiches and home baking.
