Beltie Beer Festival Quenches The Thirst Of Thousands

The 2017 Beltie Beer Festival held at Park Farm by Dumfries Saints Rugby Club saw a sell out crowd of 2,300 folk enjoying some amazing locally produced beers, fantastic local bands and of course some wonderful Dumfries and Galloway sunshine on Saturday the 3rd June.

This year was the 3rd Beltie Beer Festival, which was launched back in 2014 to raise funds for Dumfries Saints Rugby Club. What started on a small scale back in 2014 has grown into one of the region’s flagship events attracting people from far and wide to sample some of the region’s best hospitality.

Event organiser Sandy Sweetman told DGWGO “ This year we focused on local brewers Sulwath Brewery from Castle Douglas, our very own Beltie Beer, Andrews Ales from Annan, Lola Rose from Wanlockhead and Strathaven ale from across the border in Lanarkshire. We also had Langholm based National Award winning Waulkmill Cider on offer and for those who didn’t want beer or Cider there was our usual Pimm’s and Prosecco bar offering drinks by the Glass, Bottle or Jug.

For the first time this year we also introduced a Gin bar, which proved to be very popular with everyone. ” 

Allen Henderson from Sulwath Brewery Stated “We had a great day at the 2017 Beltie Beer Festival. We would like to give a massive thanks to all the team and organisers who did a terrific job once again!”

But the festival is not just about the drink, it is a family day out, offering entertainment for young and old alike; with a fun fair and giant inflatables to keep the wee ones happy, some fantastic food on offer including handmade pizzas from Papa Rab’s of Stranraer, plus burgers and a great tuck shop with a fantastic choice of sweets and snacks.

But of course there would be no festival complete without music, and BBF’s music came in all shapes, sizes and genres kicking off the afternoon’s musical delights on the main stage were The Average Blues Band a local 8 Piece soul band, they were followed by Novantae a D&G based contemporary celtic music band consisting of local lads Guy Bryson on Drums, Jamie Henderson and Tom Cuddihy both singing and strumming.

It was good to chat to Guy from the band with his family after their set, Guy Said “It was a great crowd, and a pleasure to perform for them all on such a sunny day. It’s always fun to play at Beltie Beer Festival as there is such a good atmosphere.” 

 

Next up were The Tiderays another local band who play a contemporary indie rock n’ roll, followed by the ever popular Chasin’ The Train described as playing blues with cojones! The highlight of the musical line up for me personally was the final band ‘The Zeebos‘, who kicked off an awesome array of cover hits with their version of ‘Teenage Kicks’ which got a large  proportion of the crowd up and dancing on the green grass of Park Farm.

All in all, it has to be said that Beltie Beer Festival is going from strength to strength, there is no denying that the weather has been kind over the last 3 years, and that always helps to keep the crowds happy, but an event like this takes masses of organisation. It is only thanks to the team of volunteers who run it, their professionalism working as bar staff, token vendors, cooks and stage management and everything else that goes into creating a festival from the initial setting up to the litter picking and then the taking it all back down again, that makes the  Beltie Beer Festival an event that people love. This shows by the smiles on everyone’s faces young and old and the fantastic atmosphere that everyone enjoys year after year.

Sandy Sweetman finaly said “ On Behalf of the BBF Committee and Dumfries Saints Rugby Club we would  like to give a massive thank you to each and every person that attended the event.

The BBF Committee would also like to thank all the event Sponsors –

Express Bakery

Douglas Horse Transport

Stevie Wight Electrical
W Johnstone & Sons
Galloway Water Filtration
Gordons
Solway Recycling Ltd
Akers Garage
Akers Garage Car Sales
Lloyd Ltd
Arthur J Gallagher
John Miller Ltd
AK Farm Services
Annya International Ltd
Donald Brown
Border Meats Ltd
NFU Mutual Dumfries
The Murchie Family
The Beltie Beer Co Ltd
J & J Currie Ltd
Carson & Trotter
McDougall Commercials Ltd
Donald C McRobert & Son Ltd
Dick Bros, Penpont
Lines Distribution Services
Rosefield Salvage “