THOUSANDS of foodies will converge on Alresford to celebrate the annual Watercress Festival on Sunday.

Now in its 14th year, the festival is the ultimate celebration of watercress with the chance for visitors to enjoy all kinds of family fun including a raft of edible watercress treats from watercress sausages, burgers, bread, fudge and ice cream to watercress beer and gin, available from more than 80 stalls which line the streets.

Pubs and restaurants will be serving a range of watercress-infused dishes especially for the festival while a key attraction will be cookery demonstrations by local chefs to educate spectators about the versatility of watercress with mouth-watering recipes to try at home.

The afternoon brings a demonstration of slightly less educational value but which for many is the hilarious highlight of the day – the annual World Watercress Eating Championships. Entry is free for anyone to try their hand at winning the title by consuming 85g of watercress in the fastest time, last year’s time to beat is 37.6 seconds.

The day begins at 10am with live music from jazz bands while at 10.30am a horse and cart carrying the Watercress King and Queen leads a cavalcade of Morris dancers, musicians and school children through the town liberally dispensing bags of freshly picked watercress to the waiting crowds.