The City of Hamilton is launching its inaugural food festival this month in hopes of attracting people and commerce into Hamilton.

The City Food Festival will run from March 19 through 23 with special dining deals at Hamilton restaurants and three main foodie events with the aim of drawing crowds during a traditionally tough time for restaurants and retailers.

“If we can get people excited and highlight the positive things that are going on in Hamilton, we can help put patrons on the doorstep of businesses in the City,” said Danilee Trott, event project manager with the City of Hamilton. “It’s all about educating the public as to what is going on and giving them extra reasons to come down.”

The event comes on the heels of the Island-wide Restaurant Week led by the Department of Tourism, in conjunction with 31 restaurants that ran through February 6.

The festival will kick off with a free continental breakfast at City Hall from 8am to 9am on Monday, March 19.

On Thursday, March 22, Chancery Lane will be turned into an outdoor plaza with the six area restaurants offering special food samples while diners enjoy outside seating and live entertainment from 5pm to 8pm.

On Saturday, March 24, Bermudiana Road will be closed down to vehicle traffic and transformed into a pedestrian foodie celebration where 15 restaurants and bars will set up “remote kitchens” alongside musical entertainment. It will be free to enter and ticket booklets can be purchased for food and drink.

“It’s going to be a really nice day,” said Ms Trott, adding that well-known Bermuda chef Joe Gibbons and Bruce Barritt are hosting the event. “We have 15 restaurants participating from House of India to Pickled Onion to Little Venice.”

Ms Trott added that the City’s car show event in February was a great success saying: “It went really well and had great participation from vendors and the public.”