A QUIET Cumbrian village was transformed into the home of a thriving music festival this weekend to raise money for a major cancer charity.
Rock the Fells enticed hundreds of people to Bootle yesterday as a new arts festival entertained crowds of more than 600 people.
Bands and artists from across the area came together for an ultimate showcase of local talent, which welcomed popular bands such as The Chadelics, Deatbeats and Wasted Saints to the stage.
Pete Mills, one of the organisers of the event, was thrilled by the success of the festival.
He said: "It was brilliant and surpassed all expectations. We had a fantastic turnout - more than 600 people turned up which is brilliant for our first year.
"Everyone just really understood what we were trying to do and all the acts were fantastic."
After receiving a wave of positive feedback from festival-goers, organisers Mr Mills and Dan Colagiovanni are determined to bring the festival back next year.
In addition to two live music stages, the festival provided a whole host of entertainments for people of all ages, including a range of arts and craft activities for children.
Whole families could enjoy a perfect day out as children tried their talents with a junk percussion band while parents raised a bottle of Foxfield's specially brewed Rock the Fells beer and listened to the acts.
The event was organised to raise money for the Fighting Fitz campaign, an initiative that was set up on behalf of Barrow primary school teacher, Danielle Fitzsimons.
The mother-of-two has pledged to raise £10,000 for Cancer Research UK in just one year after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
Determined to raise as much money as possible for the cause, Mr Mills was delighted to be able to boost funds through the festival for his friend.
He said: "With Danielle being ill it just highlighted that everyone is affected by it.
"We have to keep raising money for cancer research and if we can do it in a positive way then it's fantastic.
"Yesterday offered so much to so many families and it raised a lot of money for Cancer Research UK as well."
Read more:
New music festival set to rock the fells in the name of charity
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