PRESS RELEASE
The 20th Wedmore Real Ale Festival (10th – 12th September 2021)
Wedmore Real Ale Festival 2021
It’s September and that means our 20th festival is just around the corner and we can’t wait to get proceedings safely underway to give everyone the festival we have been all been looking forward to.
After it worked so well in 2019, this year’s festival will be held at Glebe Field, Manor Lane, Wedmore, BS28 4EQ, opposite the Wedmore village hall’s carpark. This new, larger site allows us to offer you over 100 choices of ale and cider, as well as a selection of wine. We are also delighted to announce that GinJar will also be at the festival this year, offering a fine selection of gins.
A range of food will be available throughout the weekend and, on Friday night, Bee Skas will get our live music underway, with a range of two tone and ska music. Live music will continue from 13.30 on the Saturday with Cross the River, Kindred, Mantawrays and, finally, ABBA Revival, the number 1 tribute act for the Swedish supergroup. As well as live music, we will have DJ Olly from Enhanced Entertainment ending both nights with dancefloor fillers.
Saturday night’s fancy dress theme is Abba, so will you be Agnetha, Anni-Frid, Bjorn or Benny, or maybe an inspired outfit to represent your favourite ABBA tune?
The festival opens at 7pm on the Friday and 11am on Saturday and Sunday. The bar closes at 11.30pm on both Friday and Saturday and draws to a close around 4pm on the Sunday.
Please note that at 6pm all under 18s will have to leave the site. Admission to the festival will be £10 per person, which includes a 20th festival pint cup to take away.
The auction will be back on the Sunday afternoon with a wide range of lots for you to bid for and we’ll also hold the draw for the festival raffle.
Another popular fundraiser is Sunday’s grand finale Beer Bucket Challenge. This year’s willing volunteers, who have agreed to be soaked in cold beer in aid of charity, are:
- Charlotte Cundy
2. Emily Mulliner
3. Emma Andrews
4. Lexie Gower
5. Linda Moorcroft
6. Shannon Loughrey
7. Sarah Love
8. Dave Powell
9. Finn Cavanagh
10. Nick Munyard
11. Pip Nicholls
12. Matt Lloyd
13. Simon Tremlett
Of course, one of the main objectives of the festival is to raise money for local worthy causes, so if you have a suitable cause that would benefit from a donation from the festival, please complete this year’s Application Form, which can be found on our website https://wedmorerealale.co.uk/funding-application/. All completed forms must be sent back to us by the 13th September. The successful applicants will need to attend the presentation night on the 2nd October.
In 2019, we raised a staggering £19,000, so come along and enjoy the festival and help us to raise more money for our local causes and add to the £205,000 the festival has already raised since 2001.
To keep up to date with the final details for this year’s festival please like our Facebook page @wedmorerealalefestival, follow us on Twitter @WedmoreRealAle or go to our website www.wedmorerealale.com.
We look forward to seeing you all very, very soon.
Alan Page
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Who’d have thought 20 years ago that the beer festival would still be going strong? Back in 2001, after a few beers in the pub, we decided it would be a great idea to hold a beer festival. We bought 16 barrels of ale and thought that they would last the weekend. Oh, how we were wrong! We sold out of those 16 barrels on the first night and the festival has grown from there. This year, we will have over 100 barrels of ale and cider!
In the last 19 years, we have been able to donate an incredible £205,221 to local worthy causes!! This would not have been possible without you. Breaking with tradition, this year’s festival will be brought forward a week and will be held on Friday 10 – Sunday 12 September and we will be returning to the glorious Glebe Field, Manor Lane, Wedmore, BS28 4EQ.
As this is our 20th year, we really want you to celebrate with us in style! Friday night’s entertainment will be provided by the Birmingham based ska band, Ska’d Hearts. They will guarantee the best party atmosphere. On Saturday afternoon, we’ll be bringing you a great line-up of music and bands, to warm up for our ultimate party act on Saturday night – ABBA Revival. They have been voted as the Official #1 Abba Tribute Show in the UK, and we’d love everyone to come in ABBA fancy dress too
Our sponsor packs have already gone out to our existing sponsors but if you would be interested in supporting the festival by also sponsoring a barrel of beer or cider, then Sarah Love would be delighted to hear from you. Just email sponsors@wedmorerealale.co.uk with your details and Sarah will be in touch.
We will also be appealing for prizes and lots for Sunday afternoon’s raffle and auction. If you have an item/service/promise that you wish to donate, please contact Sam Brown at wraf@wedmorerealale.co.uk. Our raffle and auction is always a great fundraiser, so your contributions will make a real difference to local worthy causes.
If you would like to volunteer during the festival either to help us to set up in the mornings, during the festival or to clear up on the last Sunday afternoon, then please contact Mike on 07794 781 975. Helping at such a social event is always popular and really doesn’t feel like work at all.
You can pre-order your 2021 Polo and T-Shirts, we also have a special 20th-anniversary hoodie. Please visit our online store – https://wedmorerealale.co.uk/shop/. Please also rest assured that we will be following all government guidelines, as and when these are announced/ updated, to ensure that we are a Covid-secure festival. To keep up to date with the final details for this year’s festival please like our Facebook page @wedmorerealalefestival, follow us on Twitter @WedmoreRealAle or go to our website www.wedmorerealale.com.
Stay safe and stay healthy.
Alan Page,
Wedmore Real Ale Festival
(article from Isle of Wedmore News magazine)