THE rain came down with some force several times on Saturday morning but failed to dampen spirits of those at Newport’s food festival.

What happened instead was that a high street sports store did an obviously roaring trade in sales of large umbrellas.

And by the afternoon the sun shone again on this growing event.

The Tiny Rebel Newport Food and Drink Festival 2016 was a great hit and proof if any were needed that the city can stage major events with aplomb.

It was fantastic to see High Street so busy as crowds meandered past the scores of stalls to try, or buy, food ranging from artisanal bread and cheese to paella, Thai curries and the most cleverly constructed and decorated cakes.

And it was good to see so many local firms, restaurants and bars so well represented.

Add in the street theatre, chef demonstrations and entertainment and what resulted was a real buzz in the city centre.

We are firm supporters of this event and have every confidence that it is just going to get bigger and better.

And that has to be good news for all the businesses in the city centre who have everything to gain and nothing to lose from getting involved .