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13
May 2021
The covid lockdown is gradually easing, but Ripon's annual celebration of St Wilfrid and his legacy will be scaled back for a second year.
St Wilfrid's Day is one of the city's biggest occasions of the year, marked with events and a large procession pre-pandemic. Thousands of people would line the city streets and congregate on Market Square.
Organisers are planning for a smaller celebration this year while looking to use 2021 as a platform to promote activities next year and beyond.
As well as being the 1,350th anniversary of St Wilfrid founding a church on the site of Ripon Cathedral, 2022 marks the Queen's platinum jubilee.
The St Wilfrid's Procession committee is in discussions with Ripon City Council about having a presence on Market Square over the weekend of 31 July and 1 August.
Committee secretary Sue Simms told the Stray Ferret:
The procession committee is planning for actors dressed as St Wilfrid and monks to take the traditional walk around Ripon, along with a pony or donkey on Saturday July 31.
It will end on Market Square, where the council is planning to stage a weekend of activities and entertainment for residents and visitors.
Ms Simms said:
Last year celebrations of the city's patron saint were limited to the St Wilfrid trail, with Ms Simms' husband Paul, dressed as St Wilfrid, walking the route normally taken by a St Wilfrid actor on horseback, along with floats, Ripon City Band and others.
Across the city, businesses and residents maintained the tradition by putting St Wilfrid displays in windows and gardens.
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