A new music festival, Woo Fest, held last week in aid of St Richard’s Hospice, proved a huge success raising over £6,000 to help the hospice continue its work supporting patients with life threatening illnesses.
The festival was held on Saturday 4th July at The Drum and Monkey, near Upton-upon-Severn. Over 370 people enjoyed a variety of live music from bands such as The Flames, Killerstream, Skewwhiff and many more.
Luke Simons, aged 37, from Northwick, Worcester, decided to set up the music festival in memory of his father John Simons, a local engineer, who was cared for by the hospice before his illness and death in 2013 aged 66.
Those attending also enjoyed a hog roast and bbq, and families enjoyed the children’s play area with ride on toys, bouncy castle, bushcraft and fun races including traditional 3-legged races. ‘Frozen’ star Olaf also paid a visit and many festival goers enjoyed a dance with him.
Luke said; “It was a fantastic day and the feedback we had from bands, volunteers and customers was all brilliant. Our aim from the beginning was to make this a 100% profit festival, so that the whole of the ticket price would go to St Richard’s! We’re delighted that we were able to raise such an amazing amount of money to help St Richard’s continue to care for patients at the end of their lives.”
He added; “We all had a fantastic day and I’d like to thank all our sponsors and individuals who all donated their time and equipment, and of course the wonderful bands and musicians who all played for free. A massive thank you must also go to all our amazing volunteers who worked so hard all weekend, setting up, stewarding, keeping the site clean and then tidying the site the next day.”
Following the success of this first Woo-Fest, it is hoped that the music festival could become an annual event to support the hospice.