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food-drink · Wednesday 26 August 2026 · 4:00pm 
Portadown Pop-Up Market - Food Heartland Evening
At Magowan West Plaza · Magowan West, Portadown, Co. Armagh
At Magowan West Plaza · Magowan West, Portadown, Co. Armagh
On a Friday evening in late August, Magowan West Plaza in the centre of Portadown fills up with food stalls, craft traders, live music, and the smell of something good cooking. The Food Heartland Pop-Up Market is a free community event put on by Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council with Portadown Chamber of Commerce - the kind of evening out that suits families, food lovers, and anyone who wants to browse local produce without any obligation to spend. Four hours is a comfortable amount of time to work through the stalls and still catch the cookery demonstration.
The Food Heartland label belongs to the Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon area, and this event is essentially a showcase of what that means in practice. Local producers bring their goods - think artisan preserves, baked goods, dairy, and seasonal produce from a region that counts Armagh Bramley Apples and Lough Neagh Eels among its Protected Geographical Indication products.
The cookery demonstration is a proper draw: Food Heartland chef Raymond Armstrong takes the stage to work with local ingredients, so you can pick up ideas as well as groceries. Alongside the food and craft stalls there is live music, a trapeze artist, puppet shows, face painting, and carnival games - enough to keep children occupied for the full run of the event. Entry is free; you pay at individual stalls as you go.
Portadown sits roughly 30 miles south-west of Belfast, just off the M1 at junction 10, and is straightforward by car from most of Co. Armagh and Co. Down. Magowan West is on West Street and sits alongside one of the town’s main car parks, which holds around 400 spaces - parking for an evening event should be easy enough. Portadown railway station is a short walk away, with regular Translink Enterprise and cross-border services from Belfast, Dublin, Newry, and Lurgan. Local bus services connect the town to Armagh city and surrounding villages.
The market runs until 8pm, leaving time to take a short walk along the River Bann or have a meal in one of the town centre restaurants before or after. There is more to see in Portadown and across Co. Armagh.
Heading to Magowan West Plaza in Portadown? Armagh has plenty more to see. Read the Portadown area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.