Hey! I’m Jono, Felix’s Uncle. Ive joined Team Felix to help support the Lily Foundation as my nephew is diagnosed with Leigh’s syndrome, a genetic mitochondrial disorder. It is progressive and life limiting, affecting his development and abilities every day.

He is now 1 ½ years old and we treasure him, looking to every milestone he passes, every facetime and get together as something so very extra special.

To say Im proud of Felix, Jess and Dad Joe is a total understatement, their family unit and navigation of this situation is humbling and inspiring in equal measure, every day is a dedication to this beautiful boy and a show of love and commitment Ive never seen.

Jess, Joe and I talked about how we could fundraise in York, following on from a magic gathering in Leeds back in March at Melodies 71, a Hi-fi bar where Joe is a resident DJ. There, with great music and friends they altogether raised a whopping £1.5K in just a few hours, quite amazing really!

So for the first in hopefully many, we invite you to ‘Brothers and Sister’ our family daytime disco. Sharing our deep love for music and rich history with each other, Jess has handpicked only the very finest of her brothers to spin alongside her as we soundtrack the day with sunshine tunes and best of vibes. We want this to be a celebration of Felix and our family and friends, so bring your best hugs and your dancing shoes!

A bit of info to answer as many of your potential questions as possible early on.

DETAILS:

Sunday 2nd August 1-9pm

Brew York-The Old Grey Mare, Clifton Green, York, YO30 6LH

https://brewyork.co.uk/venues/old-grey-mare/

Entry is PAYF with suggested donation of £5 per person

Young families and little ones are encouraged 1-5pm

Would love to see older families and juniors 5-9pm

(of course you are free to attend all day if you wish, we just wanted to make space for the tinies early on)

THE SPACE:

Old Grey Mare | Brew York Craft Beer is a gorgeous 17th Century historic coaching Inn, part of the Brew York Brewery family with great independent beers and bar, and setting on Clifton Green in York. We know the staff personally as family focussed, thoughtful and above all ace fun.

There 4 outdoor areas just perfect for us with plenty of space and seating, there will be a little ones play space with soft matting and astro turf, two terraces (one covered) and a boogie space for those that are in the mood!

There are plenty of toilet facilities all super accessible plus the internal space of the pub itself should you wish to wander or break up your visit.

YUZU Street Food are the main food provider at The Old Grey Mare with a menu covering all sorts of tastes inspired by East Asian Streetfood, including a great kids menu too.

https://brewyork.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/YUZU-Old-Grey-Mare.pdf

They also have rooms should you wish to stop over, a good number have already been booked by us so move quick if you do want to spend the night!

https://via.eviivo.com/OldGreyMareYO30

FUNDRAISING AND ENTERTAINMENT:

We have been blessed already with some incredible raffle donations from the York creative and hospitality community, ranging from Brew York Merch to dining experiences, salon treatments, drinks vouchers and vinyl crates to name a few. More inbound and we expect to call two raffles, one at the end of Young families and Little ones (1-5pm) and one at the end of the night.

We also will be running a cash accumulator pot with winner taking 50% of the total on the day, 50 % going to Lily Foundation.

There will be kids games for all ages too to help keep them entertained as well as a family dance session and a few surprises…

DJs

Jessie Orange

Juju Disco

Ben VHS

Jono

Kruder

Rich Burkinshaw

Bourge

GETTING THERE AND PARKING:

If you are travelling by car from outside of York the venue is best approached from the north ring road and along the A19 (Shipton Road) as your sat nav may try to bring you in across town on a Sunday, when traffic is busy.

Parking around the Inn is very limited with only a small carpark for patrons. There is no free parking nearby as it is resident permit in the main and only very limited time on street parking scattered within 0.5miles so we advise using the Rawcliffe Park and Ride which is free parking and £4 pp return, running right past the pub all day till 11pm. There are city centre car parks within 0.5 miles such as Marygate but they are expensive and get busy.

If you are travelling by train then it is a short taxi ride (12 mins) from York Train Station or buses run (Number 2 or 2a) from outside the station entrance. We wouldn’t advise walking though especially with kids.

We can’t wait to see you and think you will love the space as much as we do, if you have any Q’s we didn’t cover please contact myself or Jessika (between us you will be able to reach us) other than that, we are just so happy we get the chance to champion Felix and grab some special time while raising funds for The Lily Foundation in the process.

Please stand with us to fight mito and find hope.