Are you ready for the third Proud of Pubs Week?
Politics has dominated the pub landscape this year, from the supply tie to beer tax and their impact on pub closures.
But in a trading climate that is the most severely challenging for years, the time is right for another simple message about pubs to come to the fore once more: that pubs are great!
So many people are proud of their pub - from licensees to barstaff and pub-goers - and this year we need them all to get involved with the campaign.
The Proud of Pubs message is spreading further and wider this year, thanks to the launch of Proud of Pubs Best Bitter, brewed by the Publican team in conjunction with Morrissey Fox and available nationally through WaverleyTBS.
The arguments about the tie will rage on - but in the meantime you need to make sure you still have a business that will prosper today and in the future.
And this is what Proud of Pubs Week is all about. We have two aims:
• to give licensees the means and inspiration to shout out to their community and show them what's going on
• and to drive more people into pubs with our simple message… that pubs are good!
Licensee Sue Anstead, of the White Horse in Bedford, said: "It is so important to get people behind pubs and Proud of Pubs Week helps us do that. There's so much negative press and it is very important for us to go onto the front foot."
Last year the community local was at the heart of Proud of Pubs Week, getting customers to vote for their favourite member of staff and using the week as a platform to launch a new wine list, winning publicity in the local press as a result.
"We've already started planning for this year's week," said Sue. "We're going to relaunch our wine menu again. And we are planning a Lithuanian night - three members of staff are from there, and they'll be putting on food and all sorts."
Deep in the heart
Ashley and Kelly McCarthy at the Sun Inn in Colton, near Tadcaster in North Yorkshire, also have big plans for this year's week.
A farmers' market will kick off the week on Sunday July 12 - and with local produce from at least 18 stallholders being served up at the market, Ashley will be doing his utmost to promote the pub's place at the heart of this Yorkshire community.
Produce will range from English wine from a Leeds vineyard to honey from beekeepers in the next village - and even Morrissey Fox Proud of Pubs Best Bitter, served up by the nearby Cropton Brewery where the beer was first brewed.
Moreover, the event will raise funds for charity, with £10 from the £20 fee paid by every stallholder going to a local hospice. "We're a food pub, not a drinking pub, so this is what we can do for Proud of Pubs Week. It emphasises our place in the community," said Ashley. "We'll also have local chefs doing demonstrations, a bouncy castle and face painting on the day."
And Ashley encouraged other pubs to get involved in Proud of Pubs Week.
"I want people to be proud of this pub - and come into it not just because it's a pub but because it's a part of the village," he said.
"We're not here just to take money off people for beer - there's so much more to pubs than that!"
Isn't that what Proud of Pubs Week is all about?
Next week, find out more, including how you can get your hands on Proud of Pubs Best Bitter
Proud of Pubs Week 2009 (July 11-19): day by day
Once again we are urging readers to write to their local MP to invite them into your pubs during Proud of Pubs Week, to hear the positive message about the pub trade.
Last year more than 100 MPs, including licensing minister Gerry Sutcliffe (right), got involved. And with politicians under fire like never before thanks to the expenses scandal, many will want to be seen out and about in their constituency supporting local businesses.
But we want you to spread that message further. This year we are also urging you to make the celebrity connection - everyone knows someone (or knows someone who knows someone!) who's famous. Why not get them into your pub in Proud of Pubs Week, pin a badge on them, and help create a bit more noise around the week?
The full line-up of Proud of Pubs Week activities:
Monday - Find a new way to reach out to your community. Launch your online community today via Twitter or Facebook
Tuesday - Put on a Proud of Pubs Night - and try something new in your pub
Wednesday - Get a celebrity in your pub and pin a badge on them for Proud of Pubs Week
Thursday - Raise money for charity - make a noise in your community and raise funds for a local cause. Register your fundraising with The Publican
Friday - Get your MP into your pub - see sample letter in next week's Publican
For more details visit www.thepublican.com/proudofpubs
Tell us your own ideas for Proud of Pubs Week. Email proudofpubs@thepublican.com, or call 020 7955 3710.
Show your pride and wear it loud!
Proud of Pubs badges and window stickers are available FREE to any pub that wants them ahead of Proud of Pubs Week.
In addition, we have a limited supply of Proud of Pubs T-shirts available to purchase for just £7.99 each.
Email proudofpubs@thepublican.com or write to: Proud of Pubs, The Publican, United Business Media, Ludgate House, 245 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 9UY
