The Orchard County was due to host the event between September 8 and 11, with artisan markets, tasting menus and cider tours all planned.

Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council has now confirmed the event will not take place.

Helen Troughton from the Armagh Cider Company and Art O’Hagan, who chairs the Armagh city centre management group, told of their disappointment at the news.

Ms Troughton told the BBC’s Evening Extra: “It’s a shame that it’s not happening

“Rather than let us try and fend for ourselves (the council) have decided to pull the event, which I can understand too because some producers need more than others and it’s only fair that everyone’s hit by it.”

With many visitors having already booked accommodation in Armagh, she said her business would still be running an open day over the weekend.

“There will be no charge to get in, because in these times before winter sets in, come on, let’s have a decent day out.”

Mr O’Hagan said he was also very disappointed to see the festival pulled “at the eleventh hour”, with a letter from the council to traders  saying the  decision was made “with great regret” because of strike action and resultant staff shortages.

Four weeks of strike action for workers with ABC council started on August 15, with members of NIPSA, GMB and Unite the Union taking part.

The action is causing major problems across the borough, with some complaining about a rise in flytipping because bins are not being collected.

The post Armagh Food and Cider Weekend axed due to strike action first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

It aims to help its retailers drive footfall and sales with great offers across a range of wines in their wine festival event.

The promotion, which will run from the September, 10 – 30, has become well-established in Nisa’s events calendar and will be supported with a bespoke marketing campaign including themed POS to help create in-store theatre.

The campaign will also be supported by social media posts, a Facebook Live competition and a dedicated Wine Festival webpage featuring a wine selector, tasting notes, recipe pairings and a competition to win prizes such as a case of wine.

Included on promotion during the Wine Festival is a wide range of the I Heart 75cl wines at £4.99 and the I Heart Prosecco at £6.99, The Straw Hat 75cl wines at 2 for £7.50, Hardys Stamp wines at £5.49 each and many more.

The promotion is available to all Nisa retailers in England, Ireland and Wales (though as independent retailers it is at their discretion whether or not they opt to run the promotion in their store).

Their latest wine festival (held in April this year) delivered £5.2m in sales, with the three-week promotion continuing to be one of their most successful regular events.

Nisa commented to NR that, “The Wine Festival will allow consumers to benefit from competitive pricing and great deals on a wide range of wines to suit every taste, in addition to tasting notes and recipe pairing suggestions on the www.NisaLocally.co.uk website.

The promotion will also support our retailers in driving footfall, impulse sales and therefore basket-spend.”

Following on from the success of previous events, there are plans to launch a Craft Ale Festival promotion in October, with further events in the pipeline for 2019 (dates to be confirmed).

Norrie Donaldson, Trading Controller for Wines at Nisa, commented:

“This Wine Festival follows on from successful Cider, Gin and Wine Festival promotions throughout the year, which have been a huge success with Nisa retailers and their customers alike.

“The supporting online activity is aimed at making the promotion more interactive with consumers.

We feel the competitive pricing and wide range of wines available as part of the promotion provides something for every taste and budget.

All this whilst supporting our retailers in driving footfall, impulse sales and therefore basket spend.”

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