A POPULAR Upton-upon-Severn music festival has raised more than £10,000 for St Richard’s Hospice.
Woo Fest returned to The Drum and Monkey pub for a third year running on Saturday with over 450 festival goers enjoying the family-friendly event.
This year the festival raised £10,008 – a staggering 21 per cent increase on the amount raised in 2016 – for the hospice which provides free specialist palliative care for patients living with life-limiting illnesses and supports their loved ones
For the first time Woo Fest hosted bands and musicians across two stages.
The festival featured a flypast from a Second World War Lancaster Bomber and a surprise Red Arrows flypast.
With games, arts and crafts as well as refreshments there was something for everyone to enjoy.
Siblings, Luke and Ria Simons started the festival in memory of their late father, John Simons, who was a local engineer.
He was cared for at St Richard’s Hospice before he died in 2013, aged 66.
Luke and Ria organise and run the festival along with a committee of family and friends and 100 per cent of the proceeds from the festival are donated to the hospice as sponsors, volunteers, bands and technicians kindly provide their time and equipment for free.
Luke said: “Thank you to all our customers, it’s actually quite emotional counting the money our supporters have worked so hard to get and then used to support our little festival.
“We are so grateful to all the bands, engineers and volunteers who made the event possible.
“Thanks to the venue the Drum and Monkey – Liz, Paul and their teams really get behind this event and certainly helped us cross that magic £10k figure through their generosity.
“We would also like to thank all our amazing sponsors who are clearly awesome businesses who care about the community that they serve, so please support them in return. Finally, thanks to St Richard’s Hospice, just for being there and looking after our loved ones when they need it most.”
Alice Brunt, fund-raiser at St Richard’s Hospice, said: “We are so delighted for Luke, Ria and the team.
“They work incredibly hard every year to make Woo Fest the successful, fun and friendly event that it is, and their hard work has paid off.
“Their support enables us to continue providing bespoke care here at St. Richard’s Hospice, and we are so grateful to every single person involved at every level.”
