17th Stratford-upon-Avon Beer & Cider Festival

Now that we have completed the festival and finished taking down all the equipment, I would like to take this opportunity to formally thank you, on behalf of Shakespeare CAMRA, for the all the support that you again so kindly provided for this year’s event.

The festival was open from midday on the Friday to ten o’clock on the Saturday and we registered an excellent attendance of approx. eight hundred people. The weather was good on the Friday, and I am pleased to say that the thunderstorms held off until late afternoon on the Saturday. However, the Racecourse is an excellent venue, whatever the venue, as there are so many rooms for people to sit down comfortably as well as having the outside areas also available.

Since the start of the festivals in Stratford we have also collaborated very closely with the volunteers from Shakespeare Hospice who always have a fundraising stand (raffles and tombola) at the event. In recognition of this relationship, we also asked their main fundraiser, Jude, to open the festival. I am therefore pleased to say that the initial feedback from the Hospice suggests that they have raised just over £1600 which is up on normal before our token contributions, where we encourage visitors to donate any unused amounts on the money cards used during the festival. Further to this they also had a volunteer who works for Barclays and will get them matched funding for Saturday's efforts which should be another £800.

This year’s event saw us offering twenty ciders and perries along with fifty different cask ales from all over the country. The figure of fifty ales was only achieved by the kind support and sponsorship that we received from The Fleece, Butcombes, North Cotsolds, Purity, Wye Valley, Hook Norton, Uley, Titanic, and HB Clark.

We also had for the first time ever on the Saturday, an unannounced and unexpected visit from three Police Officers. It would be fair to say that we were very worried, but I am pleased to say that they were highly complementary regarding the organisation and atmosphere of the festival and later our attention was drawn to the following post that they produced on their social media platforms –
“Today we've traded hi-vis for high spirits (not that kind!) and dropped in on the Beer & Cider Festival at the Racecourse! We had a great time chatting with festivalgoers, meeting brilliant stallholders, and catching up with the fantastic organisers and volunteers who make this annual event such a hit. The vibes were top-notch, and it was fantastic to see everyone enjoying themselves safely and responsibly. With free shuttles running to and from the train station and free entry plus soft drinks for designated drivers, the festival really is raising the bar when it comes to safe fun.”

Please accept all our best wishes for visiting the festival and to be involved in such a positive way with the branch as we now take a few months off now before considering repeating the event again next year for what will be the eighteenth occasion.

Thank you again for your support as it was really appreciated in making the festival such a successful event.

Lloyd, Chair of the Shakespeare branch of CAMRA