A Lanarkshire pub is looking forward to launching its week-long charitable drive during this year's Cheltenham Festival.
The team at Mavrix Bar in Hamilton expect to have punters racing in the door to purchase raffle tickets for a host of fantastic prizes.
The boozer hopes to bring some buzz back to the town as a way of giving something back to the community after a tough two years for locals.
And it will all be for a terrific cause as the pub aims to raise lots of money for Lanarkshire charity St Andrew's Hospice.
Whatever is raised during the popular race week, between March 15 and 18, will be matched by Mavrix landlord John Mulvaney, who has thanked a number of local businesses for getting involved in his initiative.
Hamilton firms SALT Hamilton, Fat Yankees, Beau Ultime -skin Aesthetics, as well as Marks & Spencer’s have all donated vouchers to the value of £40 for raffles which will be drawn daily.
The big draw however will take place on the Friday following the Gold Cup race and locals will have the chance to win tickets for Rangers v Celtic on April 3, as well as another two tickets for the same fixture expected to be played in May.
John told Lanarkshire Live : "We will be raffling the tickets during the week and will donate all proceeds to the local charity.
"Whatever we raise over the week in the premises, I will personally match it.
"Tennent's have gave us promotions for discount prices during the week, there'll be promotions on Guinness for St Patrick's Day.
"We've also managed to secure tickets for the Rangers v Celtic game and for the fixture again in May.
"We'll have free home baking and food organised through the week for everybody that comes in, and we hope we can generate some community spirit and make people feel good again."
Mavrix Bar has completed a full revamp of the pub in recent months and looks forward to welcoming more punters in the coming weeks.
Like many others in the hospitality sector, the establishment has suffered through closures during the pandemic. But John is now looking ahead more positively.
He added: "I've only had the pub 18 months and we've done a lot to it since then, so it's been a good venture for us.
"Cheltenham is a big week for punters and there's obviously been a bit of a lid on that the past two years due to Covid.
"So we want to bring a bit of a buzz back to Hamilton. It should be a really good week.
"We have local businesses involved, restaurants, a beautician and a florist all on board.
"On the Friday for the Gold Cup day there'll be more draws for the football tickets which will be sought after.
"It's a great opportunity to give something back to the community. Before the bar was pretty dingy and dull, but we have it turned around now with lots happening with live entertainment and plenty going on.
"It's fantastic to get everybody involved. We're trying to create a community hub here for locals and family.
"We've been working on the event round the clock so we're really looking forward to it."
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