A village pub in Hest Bank has successfully hosted its first family-friendly outdoor music festival in an attempt to put the Lancaster pub back at the heart of its community.
The Hest Bank Hotel was taken over by Management Partners Helen and Jamie this January and their desire to relaunch the pub and involve the community was a priority of theirs from the very beginning.
In doing so, they pitched the idea of hosting the pub’s first outdoor ‘By The Canal’ festival, and just four months later the team pulled off an incredibly successful family fun day, attended by hundreds of village residents and pub guests.
Helen said: “We are incredibly grateful that the community of Hest Bank continuously support our pub and the events that we run.
“Our vision before we even stepped into the pub, was to put the Hest Bank Hotel back at the heart of the community. The team has worked so hard to bring our vision to life and our Operations Manager Alex has supported us wholeheartedly.
“We’re thrilled at the success of the By The Canal festival, and we’re excited to plan more community events in the future.”
The festival saw hundreds of people from the community gather at the pub and by the canal side to enjoy music tributes from local artists and outdoor games as well as woodfired pizzas, an outdoor bar and free face painting.
Helen continued: “So much work went into the festival behind the scenes, and I’m proud of the whole team for coming together to ensure the event was a huge success.
“Whilst we haven’t run a pub before, our background is in the restaurant business, so hospitality and creating 5-star guest experiences is our passion. Our locals are already looking forward to next year’s festival and we’re confident that we can make it bigger and better than this year.”
The Hest Bank Hotel hosts regular activities and events from pub quizzes and live music acts to sporting events and lunch promotions.
More information can be found on the pub’s website and social media pages.