Siblings' festival raises over £250k for hospice

A brother and sister from Worcestershire have raised more than £270,000 for a local hospice, a sum that surpasses any other individual effort for the charity.

Ria and Luke Simons, from Worcester, founded Woo Fest - a family friendly music festival - in 2015, in tribute to their dad, John Simons, who died with pancreatic cancer in 2013.

He was treated at St Richard's Hospice, and since the festival's inception in Upton upon Severn, it has raised £270,784 for the charity.

Ria Simons described the achievement as a "truly beautiful thing".

"A quarter of a million pounds has been smashed, and that's all because of an amazing community coming together," she said.

Her brother, Luke Simons, added: "Thank you to every single person who bought a ticket, came along, danced, sang, chilled out and donated. Quite simply, this wouldn't happen without you."

As well as raising money for St Richard's Hospice, Woo Fest was even crowned the UK's Best Small Festival at the National Festival Awards in 2019 and 2022.

"Ria and Luke have raised an incredible amount, especially for a charity like us that relies on our community to help raise 80% of the £12m it costs to keep our services running each year," Abby Holliday, from St Richard's Hospice, said.

"We couldn't be more grateful to them for choosing to turn their own experience of loss into help and support for those who need us, including bereaved children."

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