Foodies with a taste for Fraser Valley produce and cuisine had reason to celebrate over the weekend.

Langley Eats Local attracted 25 food vendors and plenty of guests to Driediger Farms Market on Sunday.

The concept of the fourth annual sustainable food festival is to celebrate food grown and made in Langley and its surrounding communities.

Stephanie Captein from the Langley Environmental Partners Society, which organized the event, said the number of vendors and attendees was up significantly from the previous year.

"I think there were around 18 [vendors] last year," Captein said. "It's been awesome. We've had a lot of people out, they've been enjoying coming to the Upick and walking around, learning about the local food and having great conversations with all of the vendors here, and learning how they can support local in various ways."

There was a wide array of participants Sunday. One example is Milner Valley Cheese, made by the Smith family, sixth-generation farmers near Glover Road. The local cheese producers have 66 milking goats, along with more than 100 kids born this year, and make their own cheese inhouse.

Another was Thomas Reid Farms, an organic chicken farm based in Langley.

Dave Reid, son of the father and son team that lead Thomas Reid Farms noted that although the operation is in Langley, they are still somewhat of a secret here.

"We do these events to introduce ourselves," he noted.

Entertainment throughout the day was provided by locals Hailey Morgan of Walnut Grove, who sang and played keyboard, and Fraser Readman of Surrey who played guitar and sang.

Attendees came for a variety of reasons, but some, like the Galloway family, made it part of their weekly visit to markets.

"We found a pamphlet, then Googled the farm and found out this was going on today. It was the perfect day to come," said Stephanie Galloway.

"There are all kinds of products and people are really getting involved and asking all kinds of questions, which is great," Captein said.

Shopping local is like casting a vote for your community, Captein said.

"As consumers you have so much buying power," she said. "Wherever you put that dollar, if it's a local business, it stays and supports the local economy. So yeah, why not?"

tlandreville@langleyadvance.com