Steyne Gardens, Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September, 10am to 7pm, free entry. The 2026 vendor list runs to 53 traders and live music on the main stage is new.
The Worthing Food and Drink Festival returns to Steyne Gardens on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2026. Both days run from 10am to 7pm and entry is free.
Those times come from the festival’s own site, which heads its homepage “Sat 12 Sept: 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Sun 13 Sept: 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Free Entry”. (Worthing Food & Drink Festival) The organiser is Worthing Town Centre BID, which calls it “the South Coast’s biggest free food festival” and describes the event as family friendly and dog friendly.
One warning before you plan around anything else you read. The Worthing Town Centre BID listing for the festival carries two entries for the same weekend with two different sets of hours, 10.00 to 19.00 and 11.00 to 20.00. The festival’s own website gives 10am to 7pm on both days, and that is the one to trust.
What is new for 2026
Live music on a main stage is genuinely new. The BID says that “for the first time, we’re bringing live music and entertainment to the main stage throughout the weekend”. (Worthing Town Centre BID, 3 September 2026)
The named performers across the two days are Honey Bee, Mica Allen, Chris Keats, Rock Choir, Anne Whiteside, Emma Olsen and Repeat Offenders. Anne Whiteside is also bringing steel drums, including a roaming set around Steyne Gardens, and Fred Delius and Dan are performing around the site rather than on the stage. A second BID post about the weekend also lists Ministry of Anthems, who do not appear in the first one.
The other addition is Mini Bounce World, a scaled-down version of Dave Hunt’s Bounce World, set up inside Steyne Gardens. (Worthing Town Centre BID, 3 September 2026)
The only two start times the organisers have published
Almost nothing about this weekend has a clock time attached to it yet. Two things do:
- Chilli Eating Contest, 4pm Saturday, on the main stage. The BID calls it “back by popular demand”.
- Dave Hunt’s Pub Quiz, 6pm Saturday, also on the main stage.
There is no published 2026 stage timetable. Last year the festival put out a full hour by hour entertainment guide, with busker slots from 11am to 6pm on both days, walkabout circus at 12pm, 1.30pm and 3pm, and a magician from 12pm to 3pm. That guide went up on 12 September 2025, which was the Friday before the event, so a 2026 version may appear only days before the gates open. (Worthing Food & Drink Festival news)
Who is actually trading
The festival publishes a “2026 vendor list” on its exhibitors page, and it names 54 stalls in five categories. One of those is a repeat, Smoking Hoggs and Smoking Hogs, so the real count is 53.
The homepage advertises a sixth category, Snacks and Sides, promising “artisan cheeses to gourmet nibbles”. No such section exists on the exhibitors page.
Several Worthing businesses you can find in town all year are trading. Beer No Evil on Brighton Road, seafront Mexican restaurant Saltio, Jonny’s on Warwick Street, Five Dots on Chapel Road, The Old Bike Store and the Rose & Crown are all bringing bars or kitchens, and Worthing Gin and Rum will be selling bottles as well as pouring drinks. (Worthing Town Centre BID trader round-up)
That round-up also names G-Lite, La Poutine and D’Amore Catering, none of which appears on the official vendor list. Treat the vendor list as the more reliable of the two, but expect a few stalls either way.
What families get
The BID has published a specific list of what is laid on for children:
- Mini Bounce World.
- A treasure hunt around the site, plus guess the weight of the cakes, how many sweets are in the jar, and a hidden seagull to find.
- A face painter and a caricature artist, both there all weekend.
- Free drinking water and free suncream.
- Ear defenders available for children who find the noise difficult.
Parking, and one thing the festival’s own travel page gets wrong
Steyne Gardens sits just off Marine Parade, a few minutes from the town centre and about a 10 to 15 minute walk from Worthing station.
The festival’s travel page tells drivers that Worthing’s car parks “use a ticketless system with number plate recognition” and that you “pay on exit”. That is no longer true. The three multi-storeys dropped number plate recognition, so you now pay on arrival by entering your registration at the machine or using the MiPermit app. The same page is still headed “Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 September 2025”, which were last year’s dates.
The current charges, which went up on 24 August 2026, are £1.55 for an hour at Buckingham Road, High Street and Civic Quarter, rising to £13.40 for a full day. Beach House East and West are £1.55 for an hour and £9.00 all day. Sundays are much cheaper in the multi-storeys: £1.25 for an hour and £6.20 for the whole day. Our parking in Worthing page has every car park and every tariff.
Grafton multi-storey, the closest large car park to Steyne Gardens, is shut and is not coming back. The council closed it in May 2025 and later put the cost of the most basic safe repair at £17.1m, so the site is being lined up for redevelopment instead. (Adur & Worthing Councils, PR25-054)
Check our Worthing roadworks and travel page before you set off. No road closure order for the festival weekend had been published on the Public Notice Portal as at 5 September 2026, which is what you would expect for an event held inside a park rather than on the street.
Confirmed and not confirmed
| Detail | Status |
|---|---|
| Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September, 10am to 7pm | Confirmed by the festival |
| Free entry, Steyne Gardens | Confirmed by the festival |
| Live music on the main stage, first time | Confirmed by the BID |
| Chilli Eating Contest 4pm Sat, Pub Quiz 6pm Sat | Confirmed by the BID |
| Full stage timetable with set times | Not published |
| Which traders are on which day | Not published |
| Cooking demonstrations | Advertised on the homepage, no times given |
One thing traders should know
On 24 August 2026 the BID warned that fraudulent emails were being sent to festival traders asking for payment, and said the matter had been reported to the police. It says it will “never ask you to make payment to a different or alternative bank account”. Anyone affected is asked to contact hannah@worthingtowncentre.co.uk. (Worthing Food & Drink Festival, fraud warning)
Frequently asked questions
When is the Worthing Food and Drink Festival 2026?
Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2026, 10am to 7pm on both days, in Steyne Gardens.
Is the Worthing Food and Drink Festival free?
Yes. Entry is free and there are no tickets. You pay only for what you eat and drink.
Is the festival dog friendly?
Yes. The festival describes itself as a family friendly, dog friendly event.
How many traders are there in 2026?
The published vendor list names 54 stalls, but one trader appears twice, so 53 are expected. Twenty-seven are hot food, 12 sell sweets and desserts and 11 are drinks stands.
Where do I park for Steyne Gardens?
Grafton multi-storey, the nearest large car park, is permanently closed. Buckingham Road, High Street and Civic Quarter are the practical options at £13.40 for a full Saturday and £6.20 all day on Sunday.
Sources
- Worthing Food & Drink Festival, homepage, exhibitors, travel and news pages, read 5 September 2026
- Worthing Town Centre BID, festival page and the three trader and entertainment posts of 3 September 2026
- Adur & Worthing Councils, PR25-054, Grafton car park repair cost
- Worthing Borough Council notice of variation, 20 July 2026 (PDF), car park tariffs from 24 August 2026
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