Book your spot on one of the festival's free fringe events.

The organiser of Taste of Sudbury (one of East Anglia's biggest food festivals) is over-the-moon that this year's festival is to incorporate a series of fringe events.

Thanks to the Big Lottery Fund, Justine Paul of Suffolk Market Events says not only will there be an array of nature-themed activities in the lead-up to Taste of Sudbury (June 10), but a fringe tent will be in-situ on the day too, bringing together some truly talented and interesting speakers.

'I'm absolutely delighted about the fringe events this year,' Justine beamed. 'Like the festival, they are all free, but places are limited so you need to book early to get a place if you fancy one of them. A huge, huge thanks to the Big Lottery Fund for making this happen. Taste of Sudbury is going to be incredible this year.' Book your place on any of the fringe events by emailing angie@suffolkmarketevents.co.uk

Fringe events

Monday, June 4

The Importance of Bees, 10am to 12noon, Polstead Village Hall

Join Kevin Thorne of Stour Valley Apiaries as he chats about the fascinating life of the honey bee and the joy of being a beekeeper. There will be lots of opportunities to ask questions and The Bee Farmer's wife, Julie Thorn, will have their honey and beeswax products available for you to sample.

Tuesday, June 5

Evening Riverside Forage, 6pm to 8pm, Meet Dedham Riverside Car Park

Join expert botanist Matthew Rooney for a very special evening forage along the banks of the River Stour. Lasting for two hours this forage is a fantastic opportunity to learn all about the plants that grow in this gorgeous part of the Suffolk/Essex borders.

Wednesday, June 6

Free-from baking workshop, 12noon to 2pm, Cavendish Village Hall

Join Fiona Murphy, award-winning chief baker at Moo Moo Cakes, Cavendish when she hosts a very special 'fre- from' workshop. Fiona will share her experience of baking cakes that everyone can enjoy and are completely egg-free, dairy-free and gluten-free

Thursday, June 7

Picnic and gardening, 10am onwards, Belle Vue Park Sudbury

Join in with the ActivLives Grow Your Community project gardening in Belle Vue Park in the Flower Gardens.

Tools and gloves are all available at this family friendly planting activity. After planting, relax by the flowers for a massive shared picnic. Bring a blanket and share your, if possible, locally sourced, homemade nibbles.

Taste of Sudbury Fringe Tent

For the first time ever there will be a Fringe Tent at the festival, with talks from 11am.

These include finding out more about the amazing life of bees at 11am with beekeeper Kevin Thorne and The Bee Farmer's Wife, Julie Thorn.

From 11.45 Karen Cannard, will talk about the inspiration for her blog, The Rubbish Diet, which saw her write about her attempts to slim her bin. Karen is BBC Radio Suffolk's Bin Doctor and an advisor to Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's BBC1 series Hugh's War on Waste.

Meet the incredible Sarah Hardy of The Edible Museum from 12.30pm. A classically trained artist, today the sculptor uses chocolate as her medium and her creations (including chocolate human hearts) have been used for food stunts and in scenes in films such as Alien.

At 1.15pm award-winning Fiona Murphy of Moo Moo Cakes will share her experience of baing moreish cakes using unrefined sugars, organic, local and seasonal ingredients.

And a 2pm, Dan Wheals of ActivLives will chat about the work his does in Sudbury, giving local people the opportunity to start growing plants and vegetables in small places in the town centre.

The final talk of the day comes from botanist, forager and mushroom grower Matthew Rooney, who at 2.45pm will give a fascinating insights into the world of funghi.