Info for food vendors

Hidden Door is looking for mobile food vendors to cater to the hundreds of hungry attendees that we are expecting for our ten day festival. If you are in the area and have quality scran to feed our audiences, we want to hear from you!

Our most asked questions are below, as well as the link to register your interest for our upcoming 2022 festival.

What is Hidden Door?

Hidden Door is an arts organisation which aims to open up urban spaces as a platform for new and emerging artists, musicians, theatre makers, performers, film makers and poets based in Scotland. 

We showcase new work and create engaging environments for the public to experience, explore and discover. The festival has steadily grown in size and reputation since it began in 2014 and attracts thousands of attendees each year. 

When is the event?

This year’s festival runs from Thursday 9 June until Saturday 18 June 2022. Doors will open to the public from 1pm with free entry until 5pm. Tickets will be required after 5pm until 1am* (*subject to licence). 

Where is the event in 2022?

Our 2022 festival will take place at the Old Royal High School on Regent Road, by Calton Hill, in central Edinburgh.

Outside, a stage will be built for large music performances and a bar will take over the front terrace, giving festival goers a unique view over the city. We expect that our food vendor pitches will be located to the east of the site, within easy reach of visual art exhibitions, performance spaces and our bars. 

See more about our venue announcement.

How many people attend?

We expect about 10000 attendees in total over the ten days. 

We expect Thurs – Sun to be our busiest nights and have a capacity of 1,000 paid tickets for each evening. The site will be free for the public to visit without a ticket before 5pm. 

Will Hidden Door help to promote the food vendors?

Absolutely – food is a major part of the Hidden Door experience and we’ll get people feeling nice and hungry via our social media channels and website – see this feature from 2021 for example.

Do I need to trade throughout the whole event?

Not necessarily! We would like vendors to commit to at least 5 days of the festival and would hope that you trade the whole evening of each event day that you are booked, but we are flexible and open to discussion.

How many other vendors will be booked?

We are hoping to book 4 hot food vendors. This may vary.

How do I apply?

Please register your interest here: https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/HD22foodvendors.

We will be in touch closer to the festival dates in February/March. 

For more information contact hello@hiddendoorarts.org.