The Bracken Trust held their main summer event - The Bracken Summer Fete & Garden Party - on Friday, June 27 from 3pm to 7pm at The Bracken Trust Centre in Cefnllys Lane, Llandrindod Wells.

With more than 20 volunteers on the day, ranging from a trustee member and lots of staff, as well as general volunteers, the wonderful fundraising team and fabulous performers, the event was a team effort and a huge success.

With a new charity fundraiser in post, this year’s event moved from the usual Saturday afternoon affair to a late afternoon/early evening event held on a Friday, and the change of days did not disappoint.

With just over 300 attendees throughout the event, the atmosphere was delightfully upbeat with lots of smiles and laughter. Attracting a great mix of ages - with more younger people than ever before - and the sunshine beaming down on the centre and grounds, the summer vibes were in full flow.

Smiles all round and the fete and garden party
Smiles all round and the fete and garden party (.)

Mayor of Llandrindod Wells, Cllr Steve Deeks-D'Silva, opened the event with a speech about the Trust, and from that moment on the day was a roaring success.

The attendance of The Beefy Boys, Deano's Tiki Bar and Dan & Tom's Ice Cream Van were a great success and very welcome additions which helped to get numbers through the gate, reaching younger audiences and ensuring people were fed and watered, whilst tea, coffee and the delicious Welsh cakes, which were kindly donated by Llandrindod Wells’ Tesco, were well received by all who came.

The stalls went down well and were supported by the crowds, from the cake and sweet stalls, to plants, children’s books and games, shop stall and lawn games.

The youngest volunteer - Kathryn on the BT shop stall
The youngest volunteer - Kathryn on the BT shop stall (.)

The entertainment included The Bracken Singers, Dai Hilliard and Llandrindod Wells Theatre Company - each attracting audiences of their own and playing to loud applause.

TFR Entertainment provided their services and PA System free of charge to enable speeches and announcements to be made as well as music to be played between sets, which went down a storm.

The Bracken Singers
The Bracken Singers providing entertainment (.)

To end the evening, the Grand Draw of the Summer Spectacular Raffle was held. It was drawn by Graham and Christina Brownley - the donors of the Royal Enfield Meteor Supernova Motorbike.

The Trust was delighted that the first prize winner was an attendee at the event - and the reaction of both the winner - Tyler Roberts - and the onlooking crowd was so lovely to see.

Bike winner - Tyler Roberts pictured with donors Christina and Graham Brownley
Bike winner - Tyler Roberts pictured with donors Christina and Graham Brownley (.)
Left is Pam and Helen on the raffle stall and right is singer Dai Hilliard
Left is Pam and Helen on the raffle stall and right is singer Dai Hilliard (.)

The Trust’s Charity Fundraiser, Emma Coates said: “We cannot thank everyone enough for all the help and support given - there are simply too many people to name individually - but to each and every one of you who had any input into the day, we are truly grateful and could not have pulled off the event without you.

“It truly was the epitome of our lovely, local communities and enforced exactly what it means to be a centre for support in the Heart of Wales.”

Emma continued: “The event raised an incredible £4,025.94, all of which will go directly towards supporting our patients, their families, carers and bereaved relatives.”

Left is John Curruthers with an ice cream. Right is the cheque presentation with Mayor of Llandrindod Wells Cllr Steve Deeks-D'Silva and fundraiser Emma Coates
Left is John Curruthers with an ice cream. Right is the cheque presentation with Mayor of Llandrindod Wells Cllr Steve Deeks-D'Silva and fundraiser Emma Coates (.)

This amount could be used to pay for:

• 161 therapies, nurse appointments or counselling sessions

• 80 home visits for those unable to attend the centre or a hub in person

• 36 group activity sessions

Emma added: “And what’s even better is that with this amount, our total fundraising amount since January 2025 has reached £18,459.74 – that’s 74 per cent of our £25,000 target for 2025 – and it’s only June!”

The next dates for your calendar are:

• 5th July - A Night of Music Legends - Rhayader

• 12th July - Lawn Games at Llanidloes Carnival - Llanidloes

• 10th August - Builth Aquathlon - Builth

• 7th September - Bike for Bracken - Llandrindod Wells

• 18th October - Mammia Mia Disco Retro Night - Llandrindod Wells

• 5th December - Winter Fayre & Santa's Grotto - Llandrindod Wells

• 6th December - Rhayader Reindeer Run - Rhayader

• 6th December - Step Into Christmas Concert - Rhayader

To get full details of the above and keep updated with further Bracken events in the future, find them on:

Instagram: @thebrackentrustltd

On their website: www.brackentrust.org.uk

If you’d like to fundraise, you’ll need to register your event with their fundraiser. Please email [email protected]