Hungry for a Weekend Away? Brecon Serves the Food, Aberystwyth Brings the Laughs
IF you fancy making a day – or an entire weekend – of it in mid Wales, there are two very different reasons to hit the road over the next few days.
In Brecon, more than 60 local food and drink producers will gather under one roof for one of the region’s biggest celebrations of Welsh produce.
Meanwhile, over on the coast in Aberystwyth, around 50 comedy shows will be packed into three days as established favourites, rising stars and some rather less conventional performers take over the Arts Centre.
Food or laughter? You could even make a weekend of both!
Brecon Beacons Food Festival – Saturday
The Brecon Beacons Food Festival returns to Brecon Market Hall on Saturday from 9.30am until 4.30pm, bringing together more than 60 food and drink producers from the area.
And one of the nicest things about it is that entry is completely free.
The emphasis is firmly on Welsh and locally produced food, with visitors able to browse the stalls, meet producers and discover a little more about where their food comes from.
There will also be a Taster Table, offering samples of Welsh and local products throughout the day, alongside live entertainment and family activities.
So whether your weakness is cheese, cakes, preserves, meat, confectionery, locally produced drinks or simply discovering something you have never tried before, this is very much a festival where arriving hungry could be considered sensible preparation.
The festival organisers describe 2026 as their biggest event yet, with Castell Howell and Beacon Foods returning as headline sponsors.
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What about parking in Brecon?
With thousands of visitors expected, parking in the town centre can become difficult.
A Park & Ride service will operate from Brecon Cattle Market between 10am and 4pm. Parking costs a £3 donation per vehicle, with the money going to Accessibility Powys, while the return bus journey between the Cattle Market and Brecon Market Hall is free.
It makes the festival a particularly easy day out: park, ride into the centre, eat your way around the Market Hall and perhaps leave with enough Welsh produce to fill the kitchen cupboards for the week ahead.
Aberystwyth Comedy Festival – Friday to Sunday
About 45 miles to the west as the crow flies – although rather longer by Welsh roads – the mood will be very different.
The Aberystwyth Comedy Festival runs from Friday, October 2 to Sunday, October 4, with around 50 performances taking place across six spaces at Aberystwyth Arts Centre.
There is no single admission ticket needed to enter the festival site. Visitors simply buy tickets for whichever individual shows they want to see, making it perfectly possible to dip into one performance or construct an entire weekend of comedy.
And there is a formidable range to choose from.
Kiri Pritchard-McLean gets underway on Friday evening with a new work-in-progress hour. That one has already sold out, which gives some indication of demand.
On Saturday, musical comedy comes from Jazz Emu, whose The Pleasure Is All Yours begins at 2pm, while Paul Foot brings The Future to the Studio at 8.15pm.
Also on Saturday is American comedian Rich Hall, bringing his Chin Music show to the Arts Centre Theatre at 8pm.
And there is plenty beyond the biggest names.
Freya Parker, Dee Allum and a long list of newer and alternative performers appear across the weekend, giving the festival the mixture of established acts and discovery that has become a feature of mid Wales comedy events.
Sunday even has something for younger audiences. Darryl J Carrington’s Out Of The Box, at 2pm, is an all-ages combination of juggling, physical comedy and circus skills, with tickets priced at £7.
The weekend concludes with Mike Wozniak and The Bench on Sunday evening – although anyone only deciding now will have to hope for a ticket return, because that performance is already sold out.
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Why Aberystwyth?
Part of the appeal is that this isn’t simply a touring comedian arriving, performing and leaving.
For three days the Arts Centre becomes a genuine festival hub, allowing audiences to move between shows and potentially discover somebody they had never intended to see.
And, of course, once you are in Aberystwyth there is an entire seaside town waiting outside: the promenade, pier, castle ruins and one of the most recognisable sunsets in Wales.
That makes it easy to turn a couple of comedy tickets into a weekend away.
Food or comedy – why choose?
Brecon and Aberystwyth could hardly offer more contrasting days out.
One invites you to wander around a traditional market hall discovering the food and drink produced around the Welsh countryside.
The other offers three days in which you can quite easily watch four completely different comedians before wondering how it has suddenly become midnight.
And if you are feeling particularly adventurous, nobody says you have to choose.
Brecon on Saturday morning and Aberystwyth for Saturday night?
Now there is a Welsh weekend road trip.
Did Ewe Know?
The team behind the Aberystwyth Comedy Festival also runs the celebrated Machynlleth Comedy Festival. The two deliberately sit at opposite ends of the comedy calendar: Machynlleth in May concentrates heavily on works in progress, while Aberystwyth in October showcases more finished shows heading out on tour.