"Without the magnificent fundraising by the Beer Festival, the school would simply be a much less stimulating environment for the children"   Jane Holt , Headteacher

As from 2010, the registered charity behind the Beer Festival has changed its name to Charlbury & Overseas Community Projects Ltd. This reflects a further widening of our work to also cover people overseas whose future is threatened by the lack of basic amenities or access to basic education. To keep our work anchored in the Charlbury community, which remains a major beneficiary, the people of Charlbury will be invited to submit proposals for overseas projects to be supported out of BF funds.

A principal beneficiary over time, Charlbury School has recently received grants for a sandpit, hall and stage lighting, a sound system, computer equipment and playground equipment. But we have also been able to support the following: Shed Theatre, Charlbury Youth Football Club, Charlbury Baby & Toddler Group, Charlbury Scouts & Guides, SusCha, Charlbury Pre-School, Charlbury Cricket Club and Wychways Border Morris.

Charlbury Beer Festival were delighted to be able to support Charlbury WorldSong and their Soundtracks 2011 project. Inspired by the discovery of a an epitaph on a navvy's tombstone in St Mary's Church dating from 1851, this project has been nearly two years in the creation and completion, culminating in a wonderful performance to a packed house in St Mary's Church in October 2011. Many groups and individuals came together, including Voices Unlimited, Charlbury Primary School, St Egwin's Middle School in Evesham, Charlbury Morris, Kismet, the poet Joe Butler and even staff from the Charlbury railway station. The gathering momentum of the project led to the idea of recording a CD of all the songs, readings and performances, now available from Charlbury WorldSong. Congratulations to a fantastic community project!

Other projects that CBF have supported this year: Chipping Norton Allstars, Charlbury Day Centre, Charlbury Pre-School, Friends of Wychwood, Oxfordshire Play Association, 1st Charlbury Scout Group and Sustainable Charlbury

Charlbury Beer Festival is committed to continually reducing the environmental impact of our event and in 2010 we introduced a number of initiatives aimed at attendees, traders and crew which helped to reduce energy, water consumption and encourage recycling and composting - all our food containers were recyclable, the beer was cooled naturally using hessian and the eco toilets were constructed of straw bales with a willow stand run-off. And we have registered with 10:10. We have adopted a policy to explore and employ a green approach both in the way we run the festival and to raise awareness of green issues.

In 2010, and out of recognition that the Charlbury Beer Festival had a permanent open air venue at the Cricket Club, a small team built an eco urinal adjacent to the second cricket pitch. This was constructed by committee members using local timber and a recycled stainless steel urinal and hand basin. The waste passes direct to a 3m3 pit filled with locally harvested bark and surrounded by willow saplings which will digest the liquid waste in a harmless and odour-free natural process. The eco urinal is available for use by cricket and football teams throughout the year. The new eco urinal was a roaring success and coped admirably with it's share of the 600 gallons of beer and cider consumed at the 2010 event.
As one user commented "...and the only smell was that of grass, elderflower and pure summer air, in sharp contrast with the nostril horrors which meet you in the average pub urinal."

Recycling - Thanks to a sterling effort from members of the Charlbury Area Waste Action Group (CAWAG) we managed to recycle an estimated 80% of the rubbish at this years festival. Next year we're hoping to compost all the food waste as well.