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Who's involved 2010
Why Real Ale, Micro Breweries/Independent Breweries are Important
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Background
The original idea for this event came out of the Crayke Plan questionnaire sent round in early 2005, which asked villagers how they would like Crayke to be improved - everything from transport to housing to entertainment. The notion of a beer festival attracted immediate support - and had the benefit of being slightly easier to arrange than affordable housing or a rail link!
The plans for the first event centred around promoting the real ales produced by North Yorkshire's 20 or so independent and microbreweries, in addition to some live music, good food, and family entertainment. And some cider too!
The success of the 2005 event in Crayke led to plans for an even bigger and better Festival for 2006. First it was decided that the Festival would become the Forest of Galtres Festival, taking its name from the ancient woodland formerly covering the area. It would move around local villages, drawing on support and sponsorship from a wider area - and Sutton-on-the-Forest was picked for 2006. It was also agreed to build on the live music, entertainments and local food elements of the 2005 event - basically more like a proper outdoor Festival for all the family, where the beer and cider is very important but by no means the only attraction.
The 2006 Festival was a phenomenal success, attracting more than 1000 people. The sun came out and it was a tremendous day. And the sun returned once again in 2007 for another terrific Festival just up the road in Sutton, with a tremendous performance by the Tollerton Jugglers and Unicyclists being just one of the highlights. We moved to Huby for 2008 for another great Festival over the August Bank holiday weekend using the Sports Pavillion and cricket field.
2009 saw a return to Crayke where it all started - but this time at a larger location. The Festival grew significantly this year, adding a Saturday night session to the usual Sunday programme, introducing a Festival campsite for the first time ever, booking our first big-name band The Bluetones, and generally upping the stakes. More than 2000 people came and we could have sold as many tickets again if our licence had permitted it. Pretty much everything sold out and stocks of beer, cider and food streamed into the Festival to keep supplies going. The campsite was crammed - acres of it. And wasn't it a tremendous event? Everyone loved it (apart from the ones who couldn't get in)!
2010 will be bigger still - a new more spacious site, two full days of a packed programme - and some very exciting things being planned for children and young people. Watch this site for updates or sign up to the email list. And GET YOUR TICKETS EARLY!
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