Rastrick Beer Festival 2019

Friday 30th Septem

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The Ninth
Rastrick Beer Festival
Friday 20th September 2019
Saturday 21st September 2019

 

A report of the ninth Rastrick Beer Festival 2019

The delighted chairman of the Rastrick beer festival committee summed up its latest venture in one word: “ Fantastic.”
The ninth festival, staged in the community hall at St John’s Church, was said by Roger Ellis to have surpassed all their expectations.
“It was a fantastic event which attracted hundreds of visitors on both Friday and Saturday. And with the warm late summer sun it enabled many of them to sit out on the lawns behind the church with their families and friends which was lovely to see,” added Roger. He thought this ninth festival ranked among some of the best they have staged.
Among the many visitors was Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker, taking a break from Brexit, who was accompanied by his wife.
Roger said they had also received many very complementary comments from drinkers about the running of the festival, including one woman who told him that her family had visited many beer festivals over the year but all had said that Rastrick was by far the best.
“It is such a friendly, welcoming event and always has a very good range of beers and ciders,” she said.
Roger added he would like to say a huge thank-you to the hard working team who had done the organising and planning leading up to the event and he also thanked both local businesses and the church community who had supported the event. It was very much appreciated by everyone connected with it. He was delighted it had been another success, he said.
Over the previous eight years the festivals have raised well over £40,000 for both St John’s Church and a variety of local charities. They have also attracted hundreds of visitors from across Calderdale and Kirklees, and from further afield.
This year the organising committee agreed to support St John’s and the Halifax and Calder Valley Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Calderdale Alzheimer’s Society.
Once again this year’s event offered something for everyone.
The popular and talented Clifton Handbell Ringers performed a wide and varied programme for an appreciative audience on Friday evening. This year they were joined by their newly formed junior team. This consists of eight young people raging in age from eight to 18. Three of the younger boys are children of the team’s second tenor ringer and the rest of the team are Explorer Scouts who are learning to play handbells as part of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award.
Following on from last year’s success church member, Rod Dimbleby, told stories suitable for children and their parents in the church on Saturday afternoon.
Visitors were also asked to vote for their favourite beer and when the votes were counted the winner was a plum porter, described as dark, strong and well rounded from the Titanic Brewery.
Organisers were not able to say at this stage how much the festival had raised because there were still some monies to come in and bills outstanding but, they say, when all the monies are in and all the various costs covered they will make an announcement at a special presentation evening when cheques will be handed over to the chosen charities and the church.


 

The final pieces of the jigsaw are being put in place to make sure the ninth Rastrick Beer Festival is another memorable event.
The hard working organisers are currently putting the finishing touches to their plans for this ninth popular festival, which will be staged in the community hall at St John’s Church, which is off Gooder Lane, Rastrick, on Friday September 20 (3pm until 10pm) and on Saturday, September 21 (1pm until 10.30pm).
The previous events have raised over £40,000 for both St John’s Church and a variety of local charities. They have also attracted hundreds of visitors from all parts of Calderdale and Kirklees and from further afield.
Once again the organising committee has agreed to support St John’s and two different charities.
This year they will support the Halifax and Calder Valley Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Calderdale Alzheimer’s Society.
Chairman of the organising committee, Roger Ellis, said they were absolutely delighted with the response they had received from people for the previous festivals and they were confident that this ninth festival would be just as successful as the previous events and they were now putting finishing touches to plans to make sure it was.
“We are all working hard to make sure we put into practice all that we have learned from our previous events so that we can make this, our ninth, just as successful and enjoyable as our previous ones,” added Roger.
He said they were also very grateful to all their sponsors, both corporate and personal, for their tremendous support and backing which had helped to make the festivals such a success.
“Once again I would like to urge people to come along and support us and these very worthwhile local charities who do a wonderful job in our community. It promises to be another first class and highly enjoyable event,” said Roger.
This years event will offer something for everyone. There will be story telling for children, and no doubt their parents, and the popular and talented Clifton Handbell Ringers will also be performing a wide variety of pieces to suit all tastes.
In addition the festival will also offer a fine selection of local and regional ales and ciders and there will also be a Prosecco bar. Food will also be available between 5pm and 9pm on Friday and between 3pm and 9pm on Saturday.
This week Roger said they were planning to offer something for everyone and to make it a real family affair.
With this in mind, and following on from last year’s success, church member Rod Dimbleby would be telling stories, suitable for children, in the church on Saturday afternoon from 4.15pm to 5pm, and during the festival the church will also be open for anyone wanting some quiet time and reflection.
The talented Clifton Handbell Ringers will be performing on Friday evening and this year they will be joined by the newly formed junior team. This consists of eight young people ranging in age from eight to 18. Three of the younger boys are children of the team’s second tenor ringer and the rest of the team are Explorer Scouts, who are learning to play handbells as part of the skills section of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award.
“We believe we now have the balance right, particularly judging from the comments that we have received and the feed back we have had from visitors to our previous festivals. A lot of hard work has also been put in by a team of dedicated helpers to make sure it is a success,” added Roger.

 

Organisers of the eighth Rastrick Beer Festival, felt it had hit the right note when it was staged in the community hall at St John’s Church.
This year, in addition to the usual fine selection of local and regional ales, ciders and a Prosecco bar, the festival also offered a highly entertaining musical selection.
For the first time ever the talented Gledholt Male Voice Choir gave two highly entertaining performances on both Friday and Saturday, to delight the drinkers.
And to continue the musical theme a team of skilful ringers from the Clifton Handbell Ringers gave a very polished performance on Friday evening.
These were just two of the items to give the popular festival a family feel. In addition there was also a story telling session for children, and adults, given by Storyteller In the Community, Rod Dimbleby.
“I think these three items gave the festival a family feel,” said festival chairman, Roger Ellis, “and from that we got some very positive feedback. I think it hit the right note” he quipped.
One delighted visitors from Leeds, summed up the event with the comment “A local festival for local people.”
Over the previous seven year the festivals have raised over £35,000 to support both St John’s and local charities and have attracted visitors from Calderdale, Kirklees and further afield.
Once again this year the organisers have agreed to support St John’s Church and two more local charities, The Yorkshire Children’s Trust, based in Elland and Brighouse based Turning Point counselling service which offers individual counselling to anyone over 14.
During Saturday evening Allan Clayton described in moving and graphic details a remarkable challenge he has set himself to help raise money for Turning Point, by climbing the equivalent of the height of Everest around the hills and mountains of the UK in just eight months.
He has , and will be, walking up some iconic peaks, including Helvelyn, Skiddaw, Snowdon, and finish by attempting to climb Ben Nevis, the combined peaks reaching more than 40,000 ft, which is more than the height of Everest.
Allan admitted it will be difficult because in 1999 a serious road traffic accident resulted in a spinal cord injury, leaving him just a 20 per cent chance of being able to use his limbs again. But after months of rehab and a wheelchair he managed to learn to walk again.
He cannot walk more than 50 yards without a rest and must push through the pain barrier with every step of this challenge. Allan is also raising money for Spine UK.
Since 2011 the Yorkshire Children’s Trust has set out to help children and their families cope with emotional and financial strains of managing life changing illnesses, something the charity's founders understand after dealing with cancer.
Afterwards looking back over the festival’s two days, Roger said: “ we have had some very positive feedback from visitors who said they had enjoyed the fine range of beers and ciders and the Prosecco bar, and some equally positive comments about the whole traditional atmosphere, which is encouraging.
“We were challenged with the weather on Friday, but despite the poor conditions lots of people made the effort to support us for which we are very grateful. In fact we were more than pleased with the support we received from the public on both days,” he said, adding they were very pleased with the way the whole festival had gone.
Roger also thanked the hard working team who had done the organising and planning leading up to the event.
“I would also like to thank both local businesses, the church community and individuals who have supported us. They have all helped to make the festival the success it has become,” he said.
He was unable to put a final figure on how much the festival had raised because there were still some monies to come in and some bills still outstanding but once all the monies were in and various costs covered they will make an announcement at a special presentation evening when the cheques will be handed over to the church and the chosen charities.
Visitors were also asked to vote for their favourite beer and when the voted were counted first place went to Decadence, a golden ale with a hint of malt and with Passion Fruit and grapefruit overtones, brewed by Brewsters Brewery, Knaresborough.

2018 The final pieces of the jigsaw are being put in place to make the eighth Rastrick Beer Festival, to be staged at the end of September, another memorable event.
The hard working organisers are working tirelessly on their plans to make sure that the eighth festival, to be staged in the community hall at St John’s Church, Rastrick on Friday September 21 and Saturday September 22, will be just as successful as the previous seven.
The previous events have raised thousands of pounds for both St John’s Church and various local charities.
They have also attracted hundreds of visitors from all parts of Calderdale and Kirklees and from much further afield.
Once again this year the organisers have agreed to support St John’s Church and two more local charities, the Yorkshire Children’s Trust , which is based in Elland and Brighouse based Turning Point counselling service.
Yorkshire Children’s Trust, was founded by two sets of parents after their daughters were diagnosed with Leukaemia.
Since 2011 the charity has set out to help children and their families cope with the emotional and financial strain of many life changing illnesses, something the charity’s founders understand after dealing with cancer.
Despite its far reaching work with local parents, support workers and medical professionals the Trust receives no lottery, NHS or central government funding.. It relies entirely on donations to fund its work.
Turning Point Counselling Service offers individual counselling to anyone over the age of 14. While it is a Christian based charity it provides an inclusive service open to all regardless of faith, culture, race, gender, disability or sexuality.
It offers opportunities for counselling to the local community and beyond who may not be able to access longer term therapeutic counselling elsewhere.
The previous festivals have raised over £35,000 to support both St John’s Church and local charities.
Last year, in addition to the church which received £4,000, the two charities to benefit were Bloodwise, which is the UK’s blood cancer charity, and the neo-natal unit at Calderdale Royal Hospital, which each received £1,000.
Chairman of the organising committee, Roger Ellis, said this week that they were planning to make this eighth festival just as popular and successful as the previous events and that they were putting plans in place to make it another highly successful event.
“We are working hard to make sure we put in place all that we have learned from the previous years to make sure that we can make September’s festival just as successful and enjoyable,” he said.
Once again the festival will offer a wide range of local ales and ciders and a Prosecco bar will also be available. Food will also be served at certain times.
Roger added that they had been delighted with the response and feed back from the previous events and once again thanked both local businesses, the church community and individuals who had previously supported the event.
“They have helped to make the festival the success that it has become and for that I would like to say a huge thank-you to them. I would also like to thank the hard working team who are involved in organising and planning the festival. They do a tremendous job,” he said.

2018 The date of the eighth Rastrick Beer Festival is Friday 21st September 2018 and Saturday 22nd September 2018.
Plans are already being put in place for the eight Rastrick Beer Festival, to be staged at the end of September.
The previous events, staged in the community hall at St John’s Church, Rastrick, have proved to be highly successful and very popular, raising many thousands of pounds for both local charities and St John’s Church.
Over the previous years the festivals have raised well over £30,000 to support the church and charities and last year it raised over £6,000 and afterwards the organisers announced they would donate £4,000 to the church and £1,000 each to the two charities it was supporting, Bloodwise, the UK’s specialist cancer charity and the neo-natal unit at Calderdale Royal Hospital, which cares for pre-term and sick new born babies.
The two charities the organisers have chosen for this year’s festival, to be held on September 21 and 22, are the Yorkshire Children’s Trust, based in Elland and Brighouse based Turning Point Counselling Service.
The Yorkshire Children’s Trust, was founded by two sets of parents after their daughters were diagnosed with Leukaemia.
Since 2011 the charity has set out to help children and their families cope with the emotional and financial strain of many life changing illnesses.
Despite its far reaching work with local parents, support workers and medical professionals the Trust receives no Lottery, NHS or central government funding. It relies 100 per cent on donations to fund its essential work.
Donations, among other things, help pay for medical equipment such as wheelchairs, car seats, or special beds, home modifications such as wheelchair ramps, and hospital travel, as a child may be having treatment far from home.
The Turning Point Counselling Service offers individual counselling to anyone over the age of 14. While it is a Christian based charity it provides an inclusive service open to all regardless of faith, culture, race, gender, disability or sexuality.
It offers opportunities for counselling to the local community and beyond to anyone who may not be able to access longer term therapeutic counselling elsewhere.
It offers a safe space that is confidential and non-judgemental and says its trained and experienced counsellors bring understanding and compassion to the counselling process and works with clients to explore the problems they may be experiencing.

2017 Rastrick Beer Festival's success adds cash boost to a local church and two local charities
The success of the highly popular Rastrick Beer Festival has helped give an added cash boost to a local church and two local charities.
The seventh festival, held at the end of September in the community hall a St John’s Church, Rastrick, attracted hundreds of real ale fans from across West Yorkshire and further afield.
Afterwards the delighted organisers announced the two day festival had raised around £6,000, similar to last year’s figure, which prompted organising committee chairman, Roger Ellis to describe the figure as “fantastic and very pleasing.”
Over the previous six years the festivals have raised more than £30,000 to support both St John’s church and local charities..
This year the two charities the beer festival committee chose to support, in addition to St John’s, were Bloodwise, which is the UK’s specialist blood cancer charity and the Neonatal Unit at Calderdale Royal Hospital, which cares for pre-term and sick new born babies of Calderdale and Kirklees.
The organisers announced they would donate £4,000 to St John’s with a proposal that part of the money should go towards the church’s capital expenditure and that £1,000 each would go to Bloodwise and the Neonatal Unit.
Last week the three organisations each received their cheques at a special presentation evening held at St John’s.
Before handing over the cheques, Roger Ellis described the festival as a tremendous success which was primarily down to a hard working team who had planned and organised the event and to the local businesses, the church community, and individuals who had given their wholehearted support to the festival.
Wendy Kilner, the clinical nurse manager at the neonatal unit, who received its cheque, said that on behalf of the unit she would like to say a big thank-you to the festival organisers.
“It makes a big difference, so don’t think it doesn’t because it does and if you asked our mum’s and dad’s they would also say it makes a big difference,” she said.
Mark Noblet, a Bloodwise Ambassador, who himself experienced blood cancer in 2013, commented: “on behalf of Bloodwise I would like to say a huge thank -you for this donation. It is very much appreciated.”
Before receiving the cheque on behalf of St John’s the vicar, the Rev Marion Russell said: “The church is not just about Sunday worship it is about relationships and integration. I have seen the festival grow and I am very proud to be vicar of a church which has a beer festival.”

PICTURE CAPTION: l Left to right: Roger Ellis, the Rev Marion Russell, Mark Noblet, Wendy Kilner, and Hilary Cartwright, the beer festival treasurer.

Another Successful Beer Festival
A team of talented hand bell ringers helped ring out another successful Rastrick beer festival which was staged at the week-end.
The Clifton Hand Bell Ringers, a group formed around 1890, thrilled visitors to the seventh Rastrick Beer Festival, held in the community hall at St John’s Church, which attracted hundreds of visitors from all parts of West Yorkshire and further afield..
The hand bell ringers gave a highly entertaining performance in the church on Friday evening and it was just one of the items on offer to give the popular festival a family feel. There was also a story reading session for children given in the church on Saturday by Storyteller in the Community, Rod Dimbleby.
“I think it gave the event a family feel,” said beer festival chairman, Roger Ellis, “and from that we got some very positive feed back.”

Over the previous six years the festivals have raised over £30,000 to support both St John’s Church and local charities.
Last year’s event raised £6,800 and £5,250 went to church funds and £800 each was given to Ravenscliffe High School and Sports College, which is Calderdale’s only secondary special school, and Calderdale and Huddersfield Children’s Diabetic Fund, which supports local children with the disease.
This year the two charities the beer festival committee chose to support were Bloodwise, which is the UK’s specialist blood cancer charity and the Neonatal Unit at Calderdale Royal Hospital, which cares for preterm and sick new born babies of Calderdale and Kirklees.
Looking back on the event afterwards, Roger said they had received a lot of very favourable comments from visitors about the festival.
“We have had some very positive feed back from people who said they had enjoyed the fine range of beers and ciders and the Prosecco bar, including some very interesting comments from a couple who had been to some beer festivals in Canada offering an enormous range of beers. They had visited ours this weekend and said how good it was, offering a fine selection of beers and ciders and had still maintained a traditional atmosphere. This was very pleasing,” said Roger.
He added they were very happy with the way the festival had gone and said he would like to say a very big thank-you to the hard working team who had done the organising and planning leading up to the event.
“They have done a tremendous job” he said.
He added: “I would also like to thank both local businesses, the church community and individuals who have supported us. They have helped to make the festival the success it has become.”
Roger said he was unable to put a final figure on how much the festival had raised because there were some monies still to come in and some bills still outstanding but once all the monies were in and the various costs covered they will make an announcement at a special presentation evening when they cheques will be handed over to the chosen charities and the church.
Visitors were also asked to vote for their favourite beer and when the votes were counted at the end first place went to Milk Race Stout from the Fixed Wheel Brewery.

The 2017 Beer Festival
Organisers of the highly successful Rastrick Beer Festival are once again planning for it to be the toast of the town.
Hard working members of the organising committee are in the middle of their detailed planning for the seventh festival to be held over two days in September in the community hall at St John’s Church, Rastrick. The previous festivals have raised thousands of pounds for both the church and local charities.
This year’s event will be held on Friday, September 22 from 3pm until 10.30pm and on Saturday September 23 from 1pm until 10.30pm.
As with the previous festivals there will be national and local ales and ciders on offer as well as food, which will also be served at certain times. A Prosecco bar will also be available.
Organisers of this year’s festival have agreed to support Bloodwise, which is the UK’s specialist blood cancer charity, which helps makes people’s lives better and helps stop people getting cancer in the first place and the Neonatal Unit at Calderdale Hospital.
Bloodwise says it researches, helps and campaigns, shares learning, and raises money, adding “we have changed the world for people with leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma, and other blood disorders.”
Recently St John’s pantomime committee raised £1,000 for Bloodwise after one of its long standing members received treatment at St James’s Hospital, Leeds, for blood cancer.
The Neonatal Unit provides care for pre-term and sick new born babies of Calderdale and Kirklees. The unit has level two status which means it can deliver intensive, high dependency and specialist care for babies born at 27 weeks gestation and above. It has24 cots and of these three are for intensive care, three for high dependency and 18 for specialist care.
The organising committee’s chairman, Roger Ellis, says he is hopeful that this year’s event will be just as successful as the previous years and he put its success down to a combination of hard work by a dedicated team of volunteers and the wonderful support of the church community.
“They have volunteered to help by serving behind the bar, helping in the kitchen and doing a host of other tasks. We have also received wonderful support from the business community and the festival sponsors and we really do appreciate their backing,” said Roger.
He says the feed back they had received in previous years indicated it was a very friendly event, that people were made very welcome and that it was a very well run festival with a good choice of top quality beers and ciders.
“I would urge people to come along, enjoy themselves, sample some first class beers and ciders and support some very worthy charities” added Roger.
He said they had been highly delighted with the response and support the previous festivals had received from both the sponsors and public and they were now planning to make this latest festival just as successful and enjoyable.

The Presentation Evening

The sixth festival, held in the community hall at St John’s Church, Rastrick, at the end of September attracted hundreds of real ale fans from across West Yorkshire and further afield.
Now the delighted organisers have announced the two day event raised £6,800, which prompted Roger Ellis, chairman of the organising committee, to say he thought it was one of the best year’s ever.
The committee recently announced that it had agreed that £5,250 would go to church funds and £800 each would go to this year’s chosen charities, Ravenscliffe@Springhall and Calderdale and Huddersfield Children’s Diabetic Fund.
They each received their cheques at a special presentation evening held at St John’s, when Roger described the atmosphere at this year’s festival as “magic.”

The 2016 Beer Festival
Calder Valley MP, Craig Whittaker, swapped Parliament for pints when he popped in to visit the highly successful sixth Rastrick Beer Festival.
The MP chatted and joked with drinkers before moving in behind the bar to try his hand at pulling pints for thirsty customers, under the watchful eye of Roger Ellis, chairman of the festival committee.
Afterwards Craig jokes:” I don’t think I will give up the day job.”
But he added: “On a more serious note I am delighted to be able to support this very worthy and successful festival. Over the recent years that it has been organised it has raised many thousands of pounds for the church and for a number of local charities and deserves our backing.
“I know a lot of hard work has gone in to making it a success and I also know that it has given the public a huge amount of pleasure. This festival deserves to succeed.”


The Mayor of Calderdale, Howard Blagbrough and the Mayoress, Mrs Catherine Kirk, who visited the event on Saturday, also tried their hand at pulling beer after first chatting to visitors and members of the organising committee.
Afterwards the Mayor said he was delighted to be at the festival, which was being staged in his home town, and which was supporting local charities and helping local communities.
“It is wonderful this is happening and being carried out by volunteers, it deserves the highest praise,” he said.
This year’s event, staged in the community hall at St John’s Church, Rastrick, ran on Friday, September 16 and Saturday September 17 and offered a fine selection of local and regional ales as well as, for the first time, a Prosecco bar. Food was also available.
The event attracted hundreds of visitors from Calderdale and Kirklees and from over the Pennines in Lancashire..
Last year’s festival raised £5,300 of which £3,700 went to St John’s and £800 to Working Wonders, which provides support for young people and employers to create sustainable apprenticeships in Calderdale and a further £800 went to Parkinson’s UK which was divided equally between the Halifax and Huddersfield branches.
This year the two charities the beer festival committee have chosen to support are Ravenscliffe High School and Sports College, which is Calderdale’s only secondary special school and Calderdale and Huddersfield Children’s Diabetic Fund which supports local children with the disease.
Ravencliffe caters for a wide range of special education needs, including moderate, severe and complex learning difficulties.
Roger Ellis described the latest festival as a huge success and early indications were that it had attracted more visitors than last year. He thanked the hard working and friendly team who had done the organising and planning leading up to the event.
He also thanked local businesses, local breweries and the church community for their wonderful support and sponsorship, without which no charity would have benefited.
At the close of the festival Roger said they were not yet in a position to give a final figure because some monies were still coming in and some bills were outstanding.
But once the monies were in and the various costs covered they would make an announcement at a special presentation evening later in the year when cheques will be handed over to the chosen charities and church.
“I think this latest festival compares very favourably with previous ones and must rank as a very successful event,” he said.

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Organisers of the highly successful Rastrick Beer Festival are promising that this year’s event will have plenty of fizz and sparkle.
In addition to the fine and wide selection of local and regional beers and ciders, next month’s festival will also have a Prosecco bar.
“We know from various people that it is currently a very popular drink and last week I was speaking to someone who had recently helped at a beer festival which had a Prosecco bar and it had proved to be very popular.
“So we have decided to give it a try and hopefully we will get he same reaction,” said chairman of the Rastrick Beer Festival committee, Roger Ellis.
This will be the sixth festival to be staged in the community hall at St John’s Church, which is off Gooder Lane, and will be held on Friday September 16 and Saturday September 17. It will be open between 3pm and 10.30pm on Friday and 1pm and 10.30pm on Saturday.
There will be a selection on local and regional ales and ciders and food will be available at certain times.
Over the years the festival has raised nearly £20,000 for the church and over £8,000 for local charities.
Organisers of this year’s event have agreed they will support Ravenscliffe@Springhall.
Ravenscliffe High School and Sports College is Calderdale’s only secondary special school providing education for 147 students aged 11 to 17 and caters for wide range of special educational needs.
Government guidelines indicate the existing building is fit to accommodate 69 students but in September 2015 its student population reached a record high of 147. With the help of a huge local community fund raising drive it has now secured the £2,700,000 required to construct a new centre one mile from the current site.
But it does not factor in equipping it to the highest possible standards and it is now seeking the remaining £350,000 to equip it.
The festival will also support the Calderdale and Huddersfield Children’s Diabetic Fund, which supports local children with the disease. It offers nursing care, support and advice to children and young people who have been diagnosed with the disease.
“We hope people will support the festival as they have done in previous years because it is being staged for a good cause, for local charities and the church. A tremendous amount of hard work has been put in to making the festivals a success but we have been highly delighted with the response and support we have received in the past from both sponsors and public,” said Roger.
Last year’s festival raised over £5,000 of which £3,700 went to St John’s and £800 to the independent charity Working Wonders, which provides support for young people and employers to create sustainable apprenticeships in Calderdale,
A further £800 went to Parkinsons UK which was divided equally between Halifax and Huddersfield branches.