HUNDREDS of people came out to enjoy a music festival to support our 125 Appeal.

The Ponthir House Inn hosted a music festival called Party at Ponthir for the 125 Appeal. The appeal was launched to mark the 125th anniversary of the South Wales Argus.

A 64 page special anniversary supplement with features such as key events from the past 125 years will be included in tomorrow’s paper.

South Wales Argus: Underdog play at the 125 Appeal Music Festival Ponthir House Inn. www.christinsleyphotography.co.uk

Money raised at the event will help with the huge costs of running St David’s Hospice Care in Newport and will support their vital work in our community. The hospice is the UK’s largest provider of at home care and now cares for more than 3,200 patients and families every year, at a cost of more than £7.5 million.

The staff at the popular pub and St David’s Hospice Care’s retail office manager Lesley Bateman came up with the idea of holding a music festival on the pub’s grounds as a fundraising event for our appeal.

At the festival the organisers aimed to play 125 songs in the time they have, which equates to seven and a half hours of music.

People of all ages came to enjoy the event which was held in the pub’s garden and car park. The Elastic Band, Innovence and The New Found Out, were some of the bands who played on the day and there was activities for children including giant pass the parcel and giant musical statues.

The car park was full of people enjoying the free event, and others enjoyed some food and refreshments inside the pub, which is located on Caerleon Road in Ponthir.

Barrie Walden, landlord at the Ponthir House Inn, said the day went better than he expected and that he had been kept busy all day.

“It’s been fantastic,” he said, “and it has been a lot busier than I thought it was going to be. It’s a great charity so seeing people come out and show their support is great.

“There were a lot of local people at the day and people that I have never seen before.”

Ms Bateman, who was working on the grill cooking burgers and hot dogs at the event, added: “The weather has been nice, and there has been a good turnout, the bands are excellent. People have been very generous so it has been fantastic.”

We are still looking for fundraising teams to join our appeal to raise money for St David’s Hospice Care throughout this our anniversary year.

Whether you want to hold a 125 themed bake sale or cycle a 125 miles, we need you to join the appeal to raise funds for the hospice.

If you can think of fun, innovative or quirky ways you can use the 125 theme to raise money for St David’s Hospice Care then we would love to hear about them.

You can join the fundraising fun and show your support for the 125 appeal. Share our stories, Tweet your support and use #125Appeal so we can share your messages.

You can donate £5 to the 125 Appeal by texting ARGUS 125 to 70500.

You can find out more at stdavidshospicecare.org/event-details/125-appeal/