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About our festival
About | A note from the School | Special thanks! | Committee members ------- The Monk Fryston Beer Festival has become a must-go-to event in the social diaries of not only Monk Fryston and Hillam villagers, but also those living in and around this area. The huge success and popularity of this festival is a testament to the commitment, creativity and community spirit of the people of Monk Fryston and Hillam who work tirelessly to provide a great weekend celebrating all that is Yorkshire; beer, food, entertainment and friendship. However, like all good stories it didn’t start out with a plan to be the successful annual festival it is today. Its origin laid in a desire to raise much needed funds for the Monk Fryston Community Association to improve the village’s community facilities and enrichment opportunities for both the youth and elderly. Why... This need was brought to the forefront when the village experienced three alcohol fuelled teenage ‘pop up Facebook parties’. These had left a trail of destruction at both the community centre and school. So, in August 2012 the Community Association set its ambitious target to increase the size of the community centre to accommodate the needs of a growing village population and specifically to host youth targeted clubs, particularly from the scouting movement. Meanwhile, based just 200 yards away the school PTA were also tasked with raising money, they needed to finance an essential upgrade in classroom IT equipment. So how did this lead to a beer festival… Well, coincidently, the key players who were about to join up and dedicate the next few months to launching the village’s first ever mega fund raiser, had all enjoyed a one off commercial beer festival held at the Crown pub the previous year. Jonathan Gardener Chair of the School PTA and Ray Newton, Chair of the Community Association decided this was exactly what the village would enjoy. The first official meeting to organise the festival was held on 1st June 2013 and just 3 months later with a store cupboard converted into a bursting beer cellar, a hog roast sizzling on a spit, stalls selling the best of unique local crafts and music being piped out across the lawn, covered in strewn straw to soak up the water from the heavy rainfall, the 2-day event had been pulled off. Yes, it had been a great success.
'Fancy another?'
It took no convincing for the joint team to deem this an event to be repeated and so with a strap line of ‘Fancy another’ the 2014 Beer Festival began to be planned in earnest alongside the construction of a new Community Centre. Over the August holidays the tired old centre in Monk Fryston was demolished and reconstructed, a patio was laid, which in combination with a new marquee massively expanded the entertainment space of the centre. With a desire to offer a wider variety of Yorkshire brews, the Beer Festival Committee managed to secure a generous donation from Caddick Construction to enable a purpose-built beer cellar to be incorporated into the new Community Centre. Just in time the centre was finished and ready to host its first major event and the villages second beer festival. With more beer, more live entertainment and delicious oven baked pizzas, the centre was buzzing. The community enjoyed a fantastic two days with friends and family and if this wasn’t sufficient, the money raised was ploughed straight back into the two local associations, with the Community Association affording to fit out a kitchen in the new centre and the school developing and stocking a new library for all years to enjoy. Fast forward to 2018, £40,000 raised to date and the 6th annual Beer Festival on the horizon. This year promises to be even bigger and better than all those gone before. One ticket allows entrance into all three events: Friday 6-10, Taste the Ale; Saturday 1.30-6 Family Fun and Saturday 6-10 Party Time. New this year will be an exclusive bar for cider and a third bar for Yorkshire premium gins, and at all the events there will be live entertainment & food. Also read: A note from the School | Special thanks! | Committee members Tickets
Tickets are available to buy from the Monk Fryston Village Stores (Post Office) or from The Potting Shed, Hillam. You can also buy them online. |
