Ellesmere Market Hall is staging a line-up of special events to celebrate the national Love Your Local Market campaign, including workshops, special talks and a mini food festival.

Themed events will take place at the historic Scotland Street market every Saturday throughout Love Your Local Market fortnight which launches this Friday (May 15). There will also be mid-week attractions and special promotions on offer at many of the retailers.

Ellesmere’s showcase kicks off on Saturday May 16 with an ‘Arts & Fashion Day’. Workshops include decoupage and needle-felting. Artist Haydn Herbert will paint a composition of the market hall live and there will be promotions at most retail stalls.

Saturday May 23 is themed ‘Crafts & Outdoors’. Professional angling coach and retailer Eric Brown will give talks on the outdoors with a focus on the history of the Meres and fishing, 10am – 11pm and 1pm – 2pm.

Bike specialist A Mere Cycles will give a bike maintenance and safety talk and demonstration at 1pm. The Crafty Spider will lead a needle-felting workshop, 11am -1pm. And a free stained-glass demonstration by The Makers’ Nest will take place at 11am.

Saturday May 30 will bring a mini food festival to the market with Café 1221 and food and drink retailers offering a medley of continental and eastern flavours alongside regional specialities.

These include a flavour of Italy with La Triestina, a taste of the English/Welsh borderlands with Dutton’s Fine Foods, authentic curries with Lalita’s Indian Street Food, afternoon tea and a Black Country special of faggots, mash and mushy peas with Café 1221. The Makers’ Nest will also run a Hanging Glass Light Catcher workshop at 11am.