A FAMILY friendly festival over the weekend aims to raise funds for charity.

The Beer and Cider Festival will be hosted at The Darran, in Risca, raising money for Welsh Hearts, a charity which has already placed 1,251 defibrillators in locations throughout Wales.

Although the festivities kick off at 5pm on Friday, the party will really get started from midday on Saturday, with activities also taking place between 12pm and 11pm on Sunday.

Since The Darran has no beer garden, the festival will take over their car park, with guests allowed to occupy the ample parking at Risca Surgery, which is opposite the venue.

Despite the festival's name, this free entry event is family friendly, with various activities planned for children and adults, weather depending.

Manager, Mihai Badila, said: “The festival is for the charity, not the pub. My wife and I have been involved with charities since taking over the pub last year and wanted to continue to show our support.

“This is also about creating events for the local community. As a parent I know how excited children can get, especially during the holidays, and I thought this would be a great opportunity for them to enjoy themselves in a safe environment.”

Mr Badila believes the most popular activity will be the Human Target. Thousands of water balloons have been purchased, for people to throw at him, with small prizes - such as cupcakes or sweets - for winners.

Other activities for the little ones include a bouncy castle, sandpit, egg and spoon races, archery, board games, puzzles and water fights.

There is a small charge for some of these, with the money going to Welsh Hearts, which the festival hopes to raise at least £350 for.

In the evening the fun will be taken indoors, with beer pong, karaoke and poker.

Their karaoke includes 20,000 songs - which you can sing or request staff to sing - and the poker tournament will have a £5 buy-in, with a £20 bar tab offered as a prize.

"Come along, have some fun, and help people," added Mr Badila.

You can donate by finding @DarranRisca on Facebook and clicking the "donate" button on their top post.