PRESS RELEASE
The 20th Wedmore Real Ale Festival (10th – 12th September 2021)
Wedmore Real Ale Festival 2021
(appreciate any pictures – send to isleofwedmore@gmail.com)
We finally pulled it off, the belated 20th Wedmore Real Ale Festival, which had to be cancelled last year due to the pandemic finally went ahead safely this year and we are delighted to say was a great success. Like 2019, it was held again on the Glebe Field site, which allowed for an open-sided marque to provide a very safe venue with plenty of fresh air to flow across the site. We had a range of food and a gin bar to give our visitors plenty of choices, whilst on site.
Talking of choice, this year, we had our biggest selection of drinks, consisting of 89 different ales, 6 craft ales, 20 ciders and 5 wines to give a whopping total choice of 120 different drinks. During the weekend, over 6,500 pints were poured and 246 bottles of wine and prosecco were drunk, during our most popular festival yet, with over 2000 people attending.
There was a great music line-up again this year with the Bee Skas kicking us off with their ever-popular two-tone classics on Friday night. Saturday’s live music came from Cross the River, Kindred and Mantawrays before our headline band Abba Revival, the number 1 tribute act for the on-trend Swedish supergroup performed a back catalogue that drew in our largest crowd yet and kept them dancing for their first song to their last. As well as all the live music, we had DJ Olly from Enhanced Entertainment ending both nights with more dancefloor belters.
This year’s Sunday raffle’s takings was a record-breaking £2,025 with the top prize being a trolley of 100 cans and bottles of beer kindly donated by Pitchfork Brewery. The auction alone made £8,307 which includes another record-breaking £2,810 raised for the festival’s finale, the ‘Beer Bucket Challenge’. This saw the following local participants getting doused in a lovely cocktail of the remaining ale by those who clearly cared:
1. 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
Many thanks to all of our brilliant sponsors, prize donators and volunteers for their continued support and for working hard to help us make the 2021 festival the best yet!
Applications for funding from this year’s festival has now closed. The presentation night will be held at Wedmore Village Hall on Saturday 2nd October at 7.30 pm.
Dates for your diaries: next year’s festival will be running from 9th – 11th September 2022. We will keep you posted on its developments via our Facebook page.
To keep up to date with all festival news 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 again next year.
The Wedmore Real Ale Festival
57 Meareway, Westhay, Somerset, BA6 9TZ
www.wedmorerealale.com