Skipton Castle is throwing open its gates as one of two Craven venues for a large-scale local produce festival.

The first festival of its kind was held last year at Skipton Auction Mart and had been organised by North Yorkshire County Council.

This year the council has said that while it will support the event, it does not want to run it. This task has been taken over by a new company called FEAST, based in Embsay.

The company grew out of an initiative funded by the district council, Rural Business Networking and the Government Office for Yorkshire and Humber.

Last year these organisations supported Settle's Creative Rural Enterprises in employing a business liaison officer, Rebecca Roberts.

One of her tasks was to work with local food producers and she was so surprised by the lack of cohesive support, especially in view of the quality and diversity of the produce, that she felt something needed to be done.

She teamed up with another local "foodie", farmer's daughter Sally Scantlebury, of Eight delicatessen in Skipton.

Together the women formed FEAST, turned it into a limited company and set about the task of encouraging Craven residents to shop locally.

The company has already taken on several projects.

The autumn event within the castle grounds is to be held on October 1 and 2 and will include stalls selling local meat and produce, cooked food and drink, as well as cookery demonstrations. There are also plans to have a celebrity chef take part in proceedings.

However, the first FEAST event will take place in Settle and will feature a week-long series of events beginning on Saturday April 9.

Events include stands at Booths supermarket on the Saturday and at the regular farmer's market in Settle market square on Sunday April 10.

Mrs Roberts said there was still a great deal to organise for both events including a planned "pub crawl" of real ale establishments in the Dales on Tuesday April 12, a farmhouse tea event at Lay Head Cottages, in Rathmell, on April 14 and a four-course local produce dinner at the Traddock Hotel, in Austwick, on April 15.

"Everything is pointing towards a packed series of events which will help highlight the benefits of local produce while helping the local economy at the same time," explained Mrs Roberts.

In addition she is in the throes of creating a reward card which will be valid until June and will highlight places where local produce is served or sold as well as a number of savings. The cards will be available from the stall at Booths supermarket on April 9.

FEAST is a membership initiative which is open to both the public and producers. Membership is £25 for members of the public for 12 months, and £45 for six months for farmers and food producers.

A bi-monthly newsletter will be published to feature producers and suppliers and will include recipes and news from the region along with special offers and a calendar of events.

FEAST is also involved in the new "cash from your kitchen" initiative which is helping establish a cookery centre for people who are cooking in domestic kitchens, but want to develop a business in food production.

More information about becoming a member and details of the forthcoming events can be obtained by contacting the FEAST office via email at Sally@feastevents.co.uk or by telephoning 01756 798348.