Families are being invited to the return of a festival at popular local village pub in time for Father’s Day.
The event, on June 20th, is also supporting Warwick charity Molly Ollys, which will be selling raffle tickets on the day.
‘FleurFest’ promises a host of entertainment and activities throughout the weekend, from live musicians to performers – including stilt walkers and bubbleology. There will also be a host of family activities and workshops, from face painting and hair braiding, plus the chance to Pampered Ponies enjoy pony rides with paint your own pottery in a craft tent run by Crazy Kiln. All creations will be taken away and fired, ready for collection a couple of weeks later.
Visitors are also invited to bring their proud pooches to compete in a dog show, sponsored by K9 Club.
The festival, at the Fleur de Lys, also showcases emerging acts from Birmingham’s Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) bringing upcoming local talent to Lowsonford. The live line up includes Jam House regular Carl Sinclair; new Shropshire-based band Soul Perfection; three-piece acoustic covers band The Laundry Room and Lapworth musician Dan Robinson.
The Fleur De Lys, which was last year named Coventry & Warwickshire Foodie Awards Pub of the Year, is nestled in the picturesque village of Lowsonford on the banks of the Stratford Canal between winding roads which used to be part of The Forest of Arden. The garden boasts an acre of land and is also popular as a stop-off for canal users.
It wasn’t until the early 20th century when it first opened as a tavern, later going on to introduce the ‘pioneering’ idea of serving food and giving rise to the now famous Fleur De Lys pies.
Emma Woodhouse, who runs the pub with her husband Nick, said: “Following on from the success of our 10th anniversary, in 2024, FleurFest is back! This one-day, family-friendly event aims to celebrate everything that is good about sitting in a beautiful beer garden, enjoying music from local artists and letting the kids live their best lives with a host of activities to keep them busy.”
The couple, who moved to Warwickshire from Bristol for their new project, are passionate about hospitality and have combined more than 30 years of experience in the industry.
Molly Ollys is a south Warwickshire-based charity which supports children with life-threatening illnesses and their families to help with their emotional wellbeing. They provide gifts and wishes to individuals and donate therapeutic toys and books to both children directly and to hospitals throughout the UK.
The charity also works alongside the NHS to support projects within the hospitals and the community, including funding consultants in paediatric palliative medicine and the creation of Magnolia House at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, a safe and non-clinical space where medical teams and families can have important discussions.
Molly Ollys has provided more than 5,500 wishes; supported more than 21,500 children and distributed more than 23,000 Olly The Brave books to more than 70 hospitals – making those darkest of days brighter for so many families.
For more information about Molly Ollys or to donate visit: http://www.mollyolly.co.uk/
Rachel Ollerenshaw said: “Molly Ollys are delighted to be invited back to Fleur Fest. Last year was a really fun family event and it was good to share more about our work with the local community.
“Raising both funds and awareness at these types of events is so important as it enables us to reach more people and spread the word about how we can help children with life threatening illnesses. Thankyou to Emma and all the team at the Fleur for their support.”
Fleur Fest gets under way from 12pm with children’s activities closing at 6pm. While it is not a ticketed event this year, it is helpful to register interest via: https://www.thefleur.co.uk/shop/p/fleurfest
