Abridge Village Weekend - Annual festival Makeover

The charming West Essex village that gets an annual festival makeover, sponsored by Butler & Stag.

If you thought that Glastonbury is the very best a festival can offer, then think again, because the Abridge Village Weekend surpassed itself recently, drawing in a bumper crowd with a fantastic mix of live music, and delicious food stalls, bars, a fun fair and a lot more besides.

Of course, with Abridge being in spitting distance of our Theydon Bois office, Butler & Stag was keen to show its support by not only sponsoring the event but also running a penalty shoot out competition, which proved very popular and certainly kept the team on their toes.

There was definitely a celebratory air to the three-day long proceedings, thanks in no small part to the fact that the festival was finally back after a two-year absence due to... well you know what. And to mark its much-anticipated return, two new nights had been added to the line up. Friday saw a gala evening in the marquee where dinner came courtesy of the acclaimed Aussie BBQ Company, while the busy bar helped loosen up guests for the live band and DJ that followed.

On Saturday, meanwhile, there was a full-blown country and western barn dance complete with a live band, caller and even a bucking bronco with a £100 prize for whoever could stay on the longest - yee-haw! Both evenings were a sell out and look set to become an established part of the festival's program in the future.

More familiar to regular attendees were the bouncy castle and other assorted inflatables, stalls and rides that marked Saturday's Family Fun Day while the rows of beautiful vintage cars and craft and antique fairs made their usual appearance on the Sunday.

Aside from providing excellent entertainment for locals (and a fair few from further afield), the weekend also serves a serious purpose and that's to raise funds for the village hall. Indeed, the hall's very existence came about as a direct result of the festival, which was launched in 1985 to eventually accrue enough money to build a new hall to replace the one the community had outgrown on London Road. That objective was achieved in 1993 and since then the Abridge Village Weekend has helped fund essential repairs and maintenance, while also ensuring that residents can rent out the hall for all manner of functions at very competitive rates.

Butler & Stag was delighted to add to the coffers through its penalty shoot out competition, despite the sore backs and aching legs afterwards.