The organisers of the annual bonfire on the Stray in Harrogate have warned that last Saturday’s event could be the last.
Harrogate Round Table has organised the town’s main bonfire for 52 years.
But the charity said today it was struggling to cover the costs and there was a question mark over whether it would be held next year.
In a statement expressing its “heartfelt appreciation” to those who attended Saturday’s event, despite wet weather, the round table said:
“The cost of holding this wonderful community event has risen dramatically over the last three years in line with inflation and the dramatic cost of living that we are all feeling.
“We are still processing payments and accumulating this year’s totals, but at this stage we can see that it is unlikely we will meet previous totals raised and may well struggle to cover the cost of the event. This brings into question the viability of future bonfire events.
“The annual Harrogate charity Stray bonfire night has been a cherished tradition, bringing our community together for the past 52 years. However, due to the increased expenses and risks involved in its planning, we are faced with the unfortunate possibility that this may be the last Harrogate charity Stray bonfire night that Harrogate Round Table hosts, if we do not receive the necessary financial support.”
The statement appealed for donations to “ensure the continuity of this treasured tradition”.
A GoFundMe campaign with a £5,000 has currently generated less than £2,000. You can donate here.
The round table said:
“Your generosity will directly impact our ability to continue hosting these events for everyone to enjoy.
“The Harrogate Round Table team firmly believes in the power of community, and with your support, we can overcome the current challenges and continue to provide memorable experiences for all. Please join us in preserving this wonderful tradition for future generations.”
Harrogate Stray bonfire to go-ahead after safety inspection
Harrogate’s annual bonfire is set to go-ahead this weekend after a safety inspection.
The event, which is organised by Harrogate and District Round Table, will return on Saturday, November 4, for its 52nd year.
The bonfire will be lit on the Oatlands Stray near to St Aidan’s Church of England High School.
In a post on its social media this morning, Harrogate and District Round Table said:
“Follow a safety inspection this morning, we are delighted to confirm that the Stray Bonfire and Fireworks is going ahead as planned.”
The decision comes despite heavy rain in Harrogate this week caused by Storm Ciarán.
Meanwhile, nearby Wetherby Town Council has been forced to postpone its bonfire event on Saturday due to adverse weather and ground conditions.
The Harrogate event will take place from 5pm until 8.30pm and include fireworks and live music.
The bonfire is free to attend but the round table, which is a charity, will raise funds for Harrogate Homeless Project.
It has set up a GoFundMe page and urged people to text BONFIRE to 70560 to donate £5.
Guide to bonfire and fireworks displays in the Harrogate district
This story is sponsored by Belmont Grosvenor School which will be holding a Bonfire Night Party on Friday, November 4. There will be s’mores round the campfire, music, hot food, a licensed bar, stalls and more. Gates open at 6pm, the bonfire will be lit at 6.30pm and the firework display starts at 7.20pm.
Tickets can be purchased at the gate and cost £10 for adults (children under the age of 18 are free). Get them in advance by emailing kaye.walker@bewonder.co.uk.
Bonfire night is fast approaching so we have put together a list of events coming up in the Harrogate district.
They all take place over the weekend of November 4, 5 and 6.
Let us know if we have missed your event and we will add it to the list. Email contact@thestrayferret.co.uk or call us on 01423 276197.
Belmont Grosvenor School Bonfire Party
Where: Belmont Grosvenor School, Swarcliffe Hall, Birstwith, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, HG3 2JG
When: 6pm start, 6.30pm fire lit, 7.20pm firework display
Tickets: £10 with children under the age of 18 entering for free
Ripon Rowels Rotary Charity Bonfire and Firework Display
Where: Ripon Racecourse, Boroughbridge Road, Ripon, HG4 1UG
When: 5.30pm start, 7pm fire lit, 7.30pm firework display
Tickets: adults £6, children £3, family (2 adult, 2 child) £12, under 3s free
Spofforth Village Firework Display
Where: Spofforth Cricket Ground, School Lane, Spofforth, HG3 1BA
When: Gates open 5pm, 7pm-7.15pm firework display.
Tickets: Family pre-paid £12:50 and on the gate £15. Adult pre-paid £4 and on the gate £5. Child pre-paid £2:50 and on the gate £3.
Swinton Bivouac Silent Bonfire Night
Where: Swinton Bivouac, Masham, Ilton, Ripon, HG4 4JZ
When: 6.30pm bonfire lit. There will be no fireworks or loud bangs.
Tickets: free entry, food and drinks available from the Bivouac Café
Aspin Park Academy Fireworks Night, Knaresborough
Where: School grounds
When: 5.15pm start, 6.30pm firework display
Tickets: Advance online booking – adults £4, children £3, family ticket £12, preschoolers free. On the gate – adults £5, children £4
Harrogate Stray Bonfire and Fireworks, Harrogate Round Table
Where: Oatlands Stray, Harrogate, HG1 1BJ
When: 5pm start (there will be entertainment), bonfire lit 5.30pm, 7.15pm firework display
Tickets: free entry, donations welcome
Upper Nidderdale Scouts Group Pateley Bonfire
Where: Pateley Bridge Showground
When: 6pm start, 6.30pm torchlit procession and bonfire lit, 7pm fireworks
Tickets: free entry, donations welcome
Kirkby Malzeard community village bonfire
Where: North Close Farm, Ripon Road, Kirkby Malzeard
When: 6pm start, 6.30pm bonfire lit, 7pm fireworks
Tickets: Free entry but donations welcome to fund next year’s event. Parking is available at North Close Farm. No sparklers allowed. Bring a torch.
Yolk Farm Bonfire and Burger Night – dog-friendly
Where: Yolk Farm, Minskip Road, Minskip, York, YO51 9HY
When: 5.30pm start, 6.30pm bonfire lit, no fireworks
Tickets: free entry for the event, advanced bookings only for Burger Night in the restaurant – 5:30pm and 8pm sittings
Staveley Arms Bonfire
Where: The Staveley Arms, Greenfields, North Stainley, Ripon, HG4 3HT
When: 6pm
Tickets: £5 per person to include a choice of hot dog or cup of soup
Harrogate’s main fireworks night event on the Stray will take place this year without a bonfire.
Last year Harrogate and District Round Table celebrated the 50th anniversary of organising the free-to-attend charity fundraising event
It will return this year on Saturday, November 5 and although there will be fireworks there won’t be a bonfire.
Andy Rickard, who is responsible for planning this year’s event, said:
““I know some people will miss the bonfire, and we certainly haven’t ruled out having a bonfire in future years, but we thought it was time to try something different.
“I’m incredibly excited about this year’s event and can’t wait to see everyone there.”
Mr Rickard said feedback from last year indicated most people attended for the fireworks and were ambivalent about the bonfire.
The cost and logistics required to source and move suitable wood were also factors for what aspires to be an environmentally sustainable event.
However, the event will start earlier, include fairground rides and see local groups perform on the stage, which will be moved to a more prominent position.
Besides the usual firework finale, visitors can expect to see fire performers as well as local entertainers on the stage.
The fireworks will be back. Pic by Tyler Parker
The district Scouts and commercial vendors will sell food.
Craig Stephenson, chair of the Round Table, said:
““It’s great to see new ideas and innovation in this community event and I know that there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes to put together a fantastic programme, which we look forward to announcing in the forthcoming weeks.”
The event will open at 4pm on the Saturday afternoon and culminate with the firework display at about 7.30pm.
It will be free to attend with net proceeds from donations going to a local charity.
The Round Table charity raises funds for local good causes through events such as Harrogate Beer Festival.
It also provides community service events, such as The Old Peoples Lunch and The Stray Charity Fireworks.
Generating over half a million pounds in the last 15 years, it has awarded grants to individuals and organisations supporting the young, old, sick or vulnerable and anyone in need.
Six baby hedgehogs in Ripon rescued from bonfire at last minuteSix baby hedgehogs were lucky to escape alive after being found in a bonfire just before it was about to be lit.
Ramsgill-based hedgehog rescue centre, HAPPY (Hedgehog Appreciation Prickly Pals Yorkshire) was called by a vet in Ripon this week to say the animals had been found just in the nick of time.
Jacqui Morrell, who runs the centre with her husband Peter, said the lucky animals “had a close shave”.
Ms Morrell said hedgehogs like the secluded space offered by an unlit bonfire but many people don’t often think to look for them, or other animals, before lighting up.
She said:
“Bonfires are ideal homes for hedgehogs but people don’t always think about wildlife. There’s all sorts in bonfires and it’s not just hedgehogs.”
Ms Morrell added that the hedgehogs will eventually be released back into the area where they were found.
The centre was previously based in Ripon but recently moved to a larger property in Nidderdale.
The Morrells are currently looking after 40 hedgehogs where they will nurse them back to health before releasing them into the wild.
Hedgehogs are nocturnal and Ms Morrell said if you spot one in daylight hours, it means they are in trouble and need help.
If you see a hedgehog during the daytime call HAPPY on 07506 186567.
Ms Morrell added:
Guide to fireworks displays in the Harrogate district“Don’t delay if you see one out in the town.”
Bonfire night is fast approaching so we have compiled a list of events coming up this weekend in the Harrogate district.
Bonfires in Masham and Bilton were cancelled this year but we have still managed to find nine that are due to go ahead either on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Let us know if we have missed your event and we will add it to the list email contact@thestrayferret.co.uk or call us on 01423 276197 and we will add you to the list.
Friday 5th November
Knaresborough Cricket Club Fireworks Night
Where: Aspin Lane, Knaresborough, HG5 8EP
When: 6:15pm start, 7pm firework display
Tickets: adult £2, concessions £1
Aspin Park Academy, Knaresborough
Where: School grounds, parking on Manse Lane, Knaresborough
When: 5pm start, 6.30pm firework display
Tickets: Advance online booking – adults £4, children £3, family ticket £12, preschoolers free. On the gate – adults £5, children £4
Ripon Rowels Rotary Charity Bonfire and Firework Display
Where: Ripon Racecourse, Boroughbridge Road, Ripon, HG4 1UG
When: 5:30pm start, 7pm fire lit, 7:30pm firework display.
Tickets: adults £6, children £3, family (2 adult, 2 child) £12, under 3s free
Spofforth Village Firework Display
Where: Spofforth cricket ground
Timings: Gates open 5pm
Tickets: Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.
Tockwith & District Agricultural Society Annual Bonfire & Firework Display
Where: Show field, Cattle Moor Lane, Tockwith, YO26 7QH
Timings: 6pm start, 6:30pm fire lit, 7pm fireworks
Tickets: 13 and over £5, under 13s free
The Tockwith event is back.
Saturday 6th November
50th Annual Stray Bonfire, Harrogate Roundtable
Where: The Stray, Harrogate, HG1 1BJ
When: 6pm start, 6:30pm fire lit, 7pm fireworks
Tickets: free entry, donations welcome
Upper Nidderdale Scouts Group Pateley Bonfire
Where: Pateley Bridge Showground
When: 5:30pm bonfire lit, 7pm fireworks
Tickets: free entry, donations welcome
Wath and Melmerby Community Bonfire
Where: Roger Clarke Motor Engineers, The Sidings, Melmerby, HG4 5EX
When: 6pm bonfire lit, 7pm fireworks
Tickets: £5 per family
Sunday 7th November
Staveley Arms Bonfire
Where: The Staveley Arms, Greenfields, North Stainley, Ripon, HG4 3HT
When: 4pm-6pm
Tickets: £3 per person
Swinton Bivouac Quiet Bonfire Night
Where: Swinton Bivouac, Masham, Ilton, Ripon, HG4 4JZ
When: 6:30pm bonfire lit. There will be no fireworks or loud bangs.
Tickets: free entry, food and drinks available from the Bivouac Café
Starbeck Community Firework Night – Harrogate Railway Sports and Social Club, Friends of Starbeck School
Where: Harrogate Railway Sports & Social Club, Station View, Starbeck, HG2 7JA
When: 5pm start, 6:30pm fireworks
Tickets: under 5’s free, 5 to 15’s £1, over 16’s £2
Stray bonfire organisers appeal for more donations
The organisers of the 50th anniversary charity bonfire and fireworks on the Stray have appealed for more donations to ensure a successful event in nine days time.
An online gofundme page set up by Harrogate and District Round Table has so far attracted £1,220 in donations towards a goal of £8,000 with just over a week to go until the event on Saturday, November 6.
There will be a bucket fundraising collection on the night and people will be encouraged to text to donate £5. But with the current total being so short of the goal, the organisers have appealed for a flurry of online donations over the next week.
The event is organised by volunteers, who try to keep costs low but they have to spend money on fireworks, transportation of pallets and road traffic management.
The £8,000 figure is how much the event costs to put on, and the Round Table always donates any profits to charity. This year’s charity is the Friends of Harrogate Hospital.
John Carter, who is in charge of organising the bonfire for the Round Table this year, told the Stray Ferret:
Tockwith bonfire and fireworks set to go-ahead“We are going to put on a big bonfire and fireworks display. We hope people will enjoy the event after a pretty miserable 18 months.
“There is the online fundraiser but we will have lots of bucket shaking on the night as well as the text to donate. It is the first time we have done the online fundraiser.
“Over the years the amount we have raised on the night has dwindled as people don’t tend to carry cash so we are encouraging donations in other ways.”
The annual Tockwith bonfire and fireworks look set to go-ahead this year.
Show organisers confirmed today that preparations were being made to hold the event on Friday, November 5.
The bonfire was cancelled last year due to the covid pandemic and doubts were raised over whether it will go ahead this year.
Tockwith and District Agricultural Show, which is organised by the same committee, was also cancelled this year due to “continuing uncertainty” over the impact of the pandemic.
However, the committee has decided to continue with preparations for fireworks night and also press ahead with plans for what will be the 75th Tockwith show in 2022.
Michelle Lee, show president, said:
Fundraising appeal for 50th Stray bonfire“No one can predict what will be happening next August – or indeed next month – but we feel that it’s now the right time to hopefully draw a line in the sand and move forward.
“Staging a major event like this needs months of planning so if we don’t start now it will very quickly become too late to get it off the ground.
“Now our immediate priority is to get the bonfire and fireworks night organised so that people can see that Tockwith show is back in business, and hopefully when we light that fire on November 5 it will be a beacon of hope that we are moving into more positive times.”
Organisers behind the Bonfire and Fireworks on the Stray have appealed for fundraising help to put on the 50th anniversary event this year.
The Harrogate District Round Table, which was forced to cancel the display last year due to coronavirus restrictions, is hoping to raise £10,000.
Rather than relying solely on bucket shaking on Saturday, November 6, the organisers have set up a gofundme page for the event.
Volunteers for the group try to keep costs low but they have to spend money on fireworks, transportation of pallets and road traffic management.
If the event does not go ahead or raises more money than needed then the Round Table will donate that money to a local charity.
This year the group has chosen to support the Friends of Harrogate Hospital, which raises money to benefit patients at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust.
The bonfire display is quite eyecatching.
John Carter, who is in charge of organising the bonfire for Harrogate District Round Table this year, told the Stray Ferret:
“We are hopeful that we will get the green light from Harrogate Borough Council in early October.
“Last year was going to be our 50th anniversary bonfire so it was disappointing to have to cancel it, but we did understand why it could not go ahead.
“We are in a very different position compared to last year with the vaccination programme, but we will still encourage people to keep a safe distance.
“After the past 18 months we hope that the Harrogate public will be keen to support the event on our local charity.”
The Round Table is also on the lookout for new members. The group is for young men to make friends and help the local community. Interested? Click here.