THE first Devizes Festival of Winter Ales beat its fundraising target by raising more than £2,000 for future events.

The Corn Exchange was packed for the event, hosted Devizes Outdoor Celebratory Arts (DOCA), with more than 550 people trying seasonal tipples.

A highlight of the weekend was an indoor wire act by Chris Bull, of the Bullzini family, who completed a high wire walk across the Market Place in 2013.

Jo Beal, artistic director of DOCA, said: “It went brilliantly and it was great to see so many people come out to support us.

“We are really thrilled that we have established a new festival for Devizes, which is also a fundraiser.

“DOCA gets a grant of £83k each year through the Arts Council, but we need to raise another £80K locally and this event has helped towards that.”

The festival, which was held in three sessions on Friday and Saturday, had a range of 24 beers of offer and an estimated 2,000 pints of them were sold.

Ms Beal said the festival had received some great feedback from the Corn Exchange and sponsors, with many visitors suggesting it should become an annual event.

Max Gatley, who arrived with friends for the Friday session, said: “We were the first ones through the door on Friday evening.

“It was our first time attending a DOCA event and I think it is a great way to raise money and have good time.

“I would support it becoming an annual event, although they would need to make sure there were different beers on offer each time.”

The bespoke selection at this year’s festival was sourced by Malcolm Shipp of the Vaults.

Annually, DOCA puts on a variety of free events in the town, including the street festival, confetti battle, Christmas lantern parade and an ongoing programme of workshops.

For information about the calendar of future events being in Devizes, go to www.doca devizes.org.uk