Heart of the Lion in Bicker beats for heart centre

Lion Fest at Ye Olde Red Lion in Bicker featured live rock, soul, funk, reggae and folk music in the beer garden, a circus skills workshop and young jazz pianist Isabella King (11) of Donington.

The day raised more than £300 for Leicestershire-based KeeptheBeat, a charity helping families with children affected by heart defects.

Organiser Helen Duffy said: “It was our busiest Lion Fest so far, with a really good crowd of about 300 to 400 people who came along on a day when the weather managed to stay nice.

“We had an additional guest performance from Isabella who showed us what an amazingly talented and inspirational young person she is.”

Lion Fest was also the stage for a static marathon bike ride for KeeptheBeat by heart surgery patient and Ye Olde Red Lion supporter Chantilly Milverton (21) of Boston.

Chantilly, who did the bike ride in one hour 33 minutes, said: “Lion fest was truly amazing and I’d just like to say how truly overwhelmed I was with all the support and kind donations

“It couldn’t have gone better and everyone there was so generous in encouraging me.”