Tuesday July 15: That's entertainment

From a tug of war to crowning a local beauty queen, there are some great events in the offing in pubs up and down the country during Proud of Pubs Week.

So what are you going to do?

Pubs are in the entertainment business, and the Tuesday of Proud of Pubs Week represents the ideal time for you to make a noise around your pub by trying something you have never done before.

You might just be surprised by how well it goes down.

Julian Dance, licensee at the Good Intent in Puttenham, Surrey certainly was when circumstances forced him to lay on a bingo evening at the pub in May, in the midst of a beer festival.

"We got let down by a band at short notice, so we laid on a karaoke and bingo evening at the last minute," says Julian. "We ended up with 85 people playing it, and great bar takings - it was a real success!"

Now the pub is seeing if it can repeat the trick on Tuesday July 15 with a planned evening it is already advertising on its website.

"We're keen to see if it will work on an ordinary night of the week," says the licensee.

Other events in the offing include that tug of war challenge - at the George & Dragon in Whitley, North Yorkshire, and a family day at the Halsey Arms in Pulham, Dorset.

Licensee Holly Royle says: "We are the only business left in this village and the community really do depend on us - for their entertainment as well."

Back to basics​

Entertainment doesn't have to be complicated - you could make a virtue of some of the most traditional pub games of all in Proud of Pubs Week: darts, dominoes, pool and shuffleboard.

Our Proud of Pubs Week sponsor Gamestec is urging publicans to get back to basics with traditional pub games in an initiative it is running this month with Enterprise Inns.

The Get-Inn! pub games championship is seeing selected pubs competing against each other on the traditional games, with points awarded for each one, all backed by point of sale and prizes for customers.

Lisa Nykorak, head of marketing executive, says that although the company is a gaming provider, it realises that pubs that are serious about entertainment need to attract customers in a number of different ways to keep them coming back again.

"The aims of the campaign is to increase footfall, to gauge consumer opinion, to monitor pub takings and see if it increases profits, and to increase the profile of local pubs as being central to their communities," she adds.

"From an operator point of view, Gamestec is actively supporting its customers in the pub trade by working alongside them to trial new ideas."

And there's no better time to give those new ideas at try than Proud of Pubs Week.

Eight ideas for a fun evening in Proud of Pubs Week ​

* 'Pay what you want' meal evenings

* Fancy dress - vicars and tarts

* Put on a tug of war

* Beer & food matching

* Customer Oscars night - celebrating and acknowledging your regulars

* A murder mystery party

* Ladies night

* 'School dinners' night

Above all, do it for charity, raise money for a deserving cause and make Proud of Pubs Week the week when you make your business synonymous with raising cash for your community.