The Midsummer Beer Happening, in Stonehaven, has raised £53,000 for charity this year, bringing the total it has raised over the past 16 years to £428,000.
Photographs: Barry Howie
The Happening is a celebration of the craft of brewing, along with great street food and top musical entertainment. It was held from Thursday to Saturday last week.
Organisers have thanked everyone who visited the three-day event this year, even braving lashing rain and downpours on the final day.
“As the grey skies darkened and the rain lashed down — sometimes at what seemed like monsoon proportions — everyone in our purpose-built marquee kept their smiles bright and their enthusiastic fun level turned all the way up,” said festival manager Robert Lindsay.
“It really was a fantastic three days, not only for the thousands who came along to enjoy The Happening, but also for all the volunteers who rolled up their sleeves to stage an event that has become one of the most popular in the north-east’s calendar.
“Even better is the fact that they not only had a good time, but they have also left a fantastic legacy of helping charities and causes in and around Stonehaven. That really is something everyone can smile about, and be proud of.”
The funds raised will be distributed between almost 20 local organisations who support all aspects of life in the town, from helping young people to caring for the elderly.
Stonehaven Fireballs, Stonehaven Sea Cadets, and Friends of Kincardine Community Hospital will each receive £7,000. The Friends have a project to buy special chairs which convert to beds to allow family of patients to stay in the ward, especially in end-of-life situations.
Robert said: “All three of these organisations do so much to make our town so special. The Fireballs put Stonehaven in the global spotlight every year, while the Sea Cadets help give young people the best start in life.
“And we were struck by the compassion behind the Friends’ chair-to-bed project, bringing comfort and care to families facing the loss of a loved one.”
Cheques for £2,000, £1,000, and £500 will go to a number of other local causes.
Volunteers from each of the charities worked at the event, from pulling pints to clearing rubbish, welcoming people to the marquee and waving them goodnight at the end of each day.
The Happening boasted some 120 beers and ciders, a roster of talented local musicians, plus an al fresco food court boasting award-winning street food vendors. It also saw the return of the hugely popular cycling sportive. which saw more than 700 riders tackle four different, and gruelling, routes across the Mearns countryside during Saturday’s torrential rain.
Robert said the whole of the MSBH team were grateful to everyone — from visitors to volunteers to sponsors — who helped raise so much not just this year, but every year since the first Stonehaven Real Ale Festival 16 years ago.
“We first started as some friends putting on a beer festival in the Town Hall and having fun,” he said. “We never imagined then that from pulling those first pints at a wee get-together we would see it grow in the Midsummer Beer Happening which is one of the major events in the north-east’s year bringing 6,000 people to the town over three days.
“And for it to have raised £428,000 over the years is something that we find quite humbling. It’s down to the volunteers who make the Happening happen and the people who come along to enjoy it, even through driving rain in the middle of summer. We never take that support for granted, and we cannot thank them enough.”
He thanked the sponsors, too, who were: Claxton; Macphie; Deeside Timberframe; Six Degrees North; The Bay Fish and Chips; Whittaker; Simpsons Malt; NFU Mutual; Raeburn Christie Clark & Wallace; EnerQuip; Stonehaven Cycling Club; Colin Lawson Transport; Marine Hotel; Bike Remedy; IS Digital Agency, A&M Smith; Groundwater Lift Trucks; and MGS Logistics.
