A SUCCESSFUL charity music festival in Upton-upon-Severn is to make a grand return next month, it has been announced.
The first ever Woo Fest last year at the town’s The Drum and Monkey pub raised more than 6,000 for St Richard’s Hospice – giving it a fantastic start.
And it has been has confirmed the festival will return at the same venue on Newbridge Green on Saturday, July 23 to help raise more vital funds for the charity.
The Woo Festival was set up by Luke Simons and his sister Ria in memory of their father, John Simons, who was cared for by the hospice before he died in 2013 aged 66.
It will include a variety of live music from 12 noon by bands such as The GTs, The White Feather Collective, The Flames, The Fidgets, Conner Maher Quartet and many more.
A hog roast and bbq, kids’ play area with bouncy castle, arts and crafts, and other activities promise to keep the whole family entertained.
Luke, along with his family, friends and colleagues, has in previous years completed a number of fund-raising challenges for St Richard’s Hospice including the 3 Peaks Challenge, Hadrian’s Wall and, in 2014, a ‘Source to Sauce’ challenge to walk, cycle and canoe 130 miles from the source of the River Severn to Worcester.
Mr Simons said: “The first Woo Fest was really well received and we had great feedback from all our customers and performers, so we didn’t really have any choice but to do it again.
“The interest so far has been amazing. Every single penny of the ticket price will go straight to St Richard’s Hospice thanks to all our musicians playing for free, supported by an incredible PA system and sound engineers, with sponsors picking up any unavoidable costs.
“My dad spent the last few days of his life at St Richard’s Hospice. I think the main thing that the hospice allowed us to do was to come to terms with what was going to happen and for everyone to be at peace with it.
“The support once my dad passed away was also great with even the offer of counselling for as long as required. It is difficult to explain how much this all meant to us. Some of it may sound trivial, but throughout the darkest time we had dignity, comfort, fun and laughter.”
Tickets for the event cost £15 in advance (£20 on the door), children under 14 free of charge with an accompanying adult, with optional overnight camping available at £7.50 per person (pre-booked only).
To find out more about the event and to book tickets visit www.strichards.org.uk/woofest or follow Woo Fest on Facebook.
