Staff at Mary Stevens Hospice have been 'overwhelmed' by the response they've had to a new event at Himley Hall this summer.

On Saturday 1st July, Summerfest will bring a festival atmosphere to Himley Hall, with a full day of live music, a large food festival supported by tens of external caterers and a classic car show, which has already been supported by more than 100 cars from across the last 100 years. There will also be fairground rides, donkeys and "loads of weird and wonderful things" for the local community to enjoy.

Since being launched at the turn of the year, the Hospice have seen ticket sales surge online and the event has been engaged with by nearly 2,000 local people just on Facebook.

The event has also generated widespread support within the business community, and has been sponsored by Western Power, which delivers electricity to homes and businesses across the nation. Entry is free for under-2's, £4.00 for under-16's and £8 for adults, with family tickets (2 adults and 2 under-16's) available for £20.

There will be numerous checkpoints along the route, and the Hospice are appealing for anyone who would like to volunteer their time to man those checkpoints on the day to email laura@mshfundraising.co.uk. Laura Millard, Community Engagement Officer, Mary Stevens Hospice Group said:

“There's always an element of waiting on baited breath when you launch a new event, and you just hope that what you've created is what the community want to be a part of.

"However, as soon as we started telling people about Summerfest, the interest has just gone through the roof and we're now in a position that we've got a huge waiting list for bands and caterers who want to support the day and we simply can't fit them in because of the demand.

"It's going to be a fantastic community day out, and we'd love to see local families there with big smiles on their faces, just enjoying a really good festival."

To book tickets for the event, visit the Mary Stevens Hospice event page: marystevenshospice.co.uk/event/summerfest, or to find out more about the work of the Hospice, please visit marystevenshospice.co.uk.