10th Clacton Beer Festival 24th to 27th August 2005They said it would never happen……… So far this year, the Colchester & N E Essex branch of CAMRA has celebrated two milestones. June saw both the 20th annual Colchester Beer Festival, and the 30th anniversary of the branch formation. August heralds our third special event – the 10th Clacton-on-Sea Beer Festival. For many years, the Clacton area has been described as a “real ale desert”, with few pubs offering a decent choice of real ales – and those that did invariably selling beers only from the major breweries. A small band of local CAMRA members, led by Mike & Gill Harvey, persuaded the rest of the branch to hold a small festival in Clacton, on the back of our more established one in Colchester. The early years were touch and go – sometimes making a small profit, occasionally a small loss, but the team persisted in the face of occasionally strong opposition from other branch members. Mike’s dogged determination paid off and, whilst Clacton can no longer lay claim to the title of CAMRA’s smallest festival – over 1000 customers last year – it still retains the feel of a small, friendly festival offering locals and tourists alike a tremendous range of beers from all over the country. The 2005 Clacton FestivalAs ever, we are delighted to be back at St James Hall. This can be found on Tower Road, Clacton-on-Sea CO15 1LE (next to the West Cliff Theatre, and just a few minutes walk from the station). Simply follow the signs for The Westcliff Theatre, or click here for a map. BeersWe naturally try to support local brewers, so offer a good range of beers from Essex and East Anglia – many of which are seldom seen in the Tendring area. But we also have beers from all over the UK, ranging from Cornwall to Scotland (assuming they all turn up!). Highlights this year include our festival special, which commemorates our three anniversaries. “Ten Twenty Thirsty”, a 4.2% abv porter was brewed at Blanchfields in Rochford (see programme feature). We also feature this year’s CAMRA overall national champion beer, Crouch Vale Brewer’s Gold; and the Champion beer of Scotland, Cairngorm Tradewinds. We have new beers from Mighty Oak, Nethergate and Oakham, beers from Essex’s newest brewery, Mersea Island; plus a range of real lagers, bitters, milds, porters, stouts and speciality beers. Try as we might, we know that we can’t convert everyone to real ale – and CAMRA is all about choice, so we also have ciders, perries, and a range of bottled beers from Belgium. Food is being provided by the 1st Clacton Scout Group, ably assisted by Les & Doris without whom the Clacton festival would not be the same. We are grateful to the Red Lion at Kirby le Soken (our 2005 Pub of the Year) for sponsoring the souvenir glasses, and to Roy Prockter for sponsoring the programme. The provisional beer list is printed below – but as seasoned festival goers know, some may not turn up – we always try to offer suitable replacements.
Please also note that CAMRA supports anti drink-drive campaigns, so free soft drinks will be available at our festival, to all patrons who would like them. Opening TimesWednesday 24th August: 6pm -11pm Thursday 25th August: 11am – 11pm Friday 26th August: 11am – 11pm Saturday 27th August: 11am – 11pm Admission is just £1, except Thursday and Saturday evenings after 6.30pm which is £2. Card-carrying CAMRA members are admitted free at all times – and if you join CAMRA at the festival, your entry fee will be reimbursed – and you’ll receive vouchers for two free pints! Colchester TransportAs another incentive, a coach will be available to take people back to Colchester at 11:15pm, which means you don't have to make a mad dash for the train at 10. *The normal cost of this is £5 each, but staff working at the festival can travel for free. As places are limited, please contact one of the organisers using the details below. EntertainmentSome customers say that our volunteer workers provide adequate entertainment. Our staff often say the same about the customers! Clacton has a great deal to offer, especially in the week before the Bank Holiday – with a street fair, jazz festival and the famous Air Show which will feature the Red Arrows on both Thursday and Friday. But the main attraction is, of course, our Beer Festival! Just in case this isn’t enough, we have entertainment every evening from about 8.30: Wednesday – The Pistonbroke Blues Band – a recently formed collective of experienced blues musicians who promise an exciting start to the festival – everything from laid back blues to rockin’ favourites. Thursday – The Onion Band return by popular demand. “Manic folk rock” is one description – expect the unexpected!!! Friday – Mandrake Madness. Festival favourites provide authentic northern Clog Dancing, accompanied by lively acoustic folk music. Saturday – Scorchio provide a lively finale to our festival. Keith and Sally play a range of favourites, from traditional folk to rock and popular sing-along classics. An Appeal to all MembersBeer festivals don’t just happen – they take a lot of organising, and we rely totally on volunteers to physically set things up, take things down, and run the bars in between. The problem is that most of the organisers, and many of the staff, live a fair distance from Clacton – and are also involved in running the large Colchester festival. We all have “proper jobs”, and were finding it increasingly difficult to devote the time needed to both. Whilst the Clacton festival is now well established, we feared that last year’s event could be the last, as we were experiencing staffing problems. Thankfully, a number of local CAMRA members “took the plunge” and worked at the festival, many for the first time. I am delighted to report that this enthusiasm has continued, and that this year’s organising committee now has a healthy local element. But we still need your help. If you enjoy beer festivals, why not give something back? We don’t expect everyone to take the whole week off work, but if you can spare even a couple of hours to work behind the bar, or on reception – or even wash a few glasses – this gives someone else a break. We can’t pay you, but we do provide cheap beer & food. If getting home is a problem, we’ll even pay fares or arrange taxis (within reason, and by arrangement). If you can help, please complete the staffing form or contact:
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