This article is sponsored by Ripon City Council.

Ripon City Council invites people of all ages from the Harrogate district and further afield  to join its citizens in a once in a lifetime celebration in this Right Royal city, where the biggest free Platinum Jubilee party in the north is being held over four days to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and her selfless 70 years of service to this country.

Three days of continuous FREE musical entertainment from June 2 to 4 on a stage in front of Ripon Town Hall will see 24 of the country’s leading tribute acts perform, alongside FREE fairground rides for all the family and face painting, Punch and Judy and magic shows for children.

Full details can be found by clicking or tapping here to see Ripon City Council’s Platinum Jubilee brochure.

There’s something for everybody – from parents with a three-year-old wanting to have their face painted, to a 103 year-old great grandmother who wants to come and enjoy the nostalgic wartime songs made famous by forces sweetheart Vera Lynn.

All the fairground rides are free and there will also be a Twister ride suitable for adults

Seating will be provided on Market Square for the comfort of those wanting to take the weight off their feet while watching the tribute acts.

Music in Ripon’s Market Square

The extensive concert programme will feature just about every musical genre, from rock and roll to soul and Britpop to disco dancefloor fillers and popular classics.

Ripon’s Market Square will be in the national and international spotlight at 9.45pm on Thursday June 2, after Ripon Community Poppy Project successfully applied for the city to be be one of the 1500 locations included in the UK-wide chain of Platinum Jubilee beacons that will be simultaneously lit across the land.

Beacons will also be lit in Commonwealth countries.

During the three days of activities on Market Square,  Jubilee celebrations, including the beacon lighting  in London and elsewhere in the UK, can be seen live on a large TV screen.

Adding to the very special nature of the beacon lighting event, a lone piper will play Diu Regnare, which has been written specifically for the Platinum Jubilee.

The Platinum Jubilee Horn sounds

Another huge highlight will come at 9pm on Saturday June 4, when Ripon’s world-famous setting of the watch ceremony will be in the spotlight as the city council presents the Platinum Jubilee Horn, commissioned and made by craftsmen to provide a lasting memento of this history-making celebration.

The setting of the watch, which is the world’s longest unbroken ceremonial activity, will also be performed at 9pm on each concert night, by one of the city’s very-own ‘fab four’ hornblowers, resplendent in their distinctive uniforms and tri-cornered hats.

The concerts, with a programme that has been carefully arranged to include something for people of all ages and musical tastes, will start at 10.30am on Thursday June 2 and Friday June 3 and at 11am on Saturday June 4. They will go on into the night, finishing at 11.30pm on each of the three days.

Local residents and visitors to the city can enjoy three full days of free musical entertainment provided by 24 acts and going on until 11.30pm

Concert goers can listen to tribute acts singing the songs of Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Madonna, Little Mix, Phil Collins, George Michael, Katherine Jenkins and many more.

Music from Ripon City Band will accompany an afternoon of family fun in Spa Park on Sunday June 5. They will start at 2pm with a Jubilee Big Band welcome and conclude at 4.30pm with a rousing Last Night of the Proms performance, ending with Land of Hope and Glory.

Ripon Community Poppy Project – whose Knit and Natter group made the miles of Royal bunting that adorn the city’s streets – will be running the activities in the park, that also includes face painting, Jubilee-themed crafts and a treasure  hunt for children,

Ripon, whose regal roots reach back to 886 and King Alfred the Great, is primed for the biggest royal bash in its long and distinguished history and 1,136 years after the first blast of his ceremonial horn, the city council, citizens and visitors, will celebrate and thank the most enduring member in a long line of monarchs – HRH Queen Elizabeth II – for her remarkable service.

For those who wish to celebrate by raising a loyal toast or two in Ripon’s many pubs and restaurants, the regular Transdev 36 bus service may be an advisable means of getting to and from this city that certainly knows how to throw a party.

Harrogate-based business Play Outdoors has opened a pop-up shop in Victoria Shopping Centre. The store will be open for 12 weeks and sells paddling pools, water slides and outdoor games, as well as their signature inflatable spas.  

The inflatable hot tubs have proved extremely popular among shoppers on the online site, and can be delivered and installed for free in any HG postcode.  

Owner Mark said:  

“During the lockdown these became a must-have item and their popularity as a must-have garden accessory has continued to soar.” 

The Victoria Shopping Centre has seen a series of successful pop-up shops in the past year. The most recent venture was a digital museum experience, created by Harrogate Business Improvement District.

Harrogate Chocolate Factory to hold networking event  

Local business Harrogate Chocolate Factory, is holding a networking event this Friday 20th May.  

The event is free of charge and will offer coffee and cake, a tour of the chocolate factory, and a chance for informal networking.  

The Harrogate Chocolate Factory is a social enterprise which aims to help young people with learning disabilities and autism gain valuable skills for the world of work.  

The networking event will be held on East Parade next to the Odeon.  

Contact Angela at angela@hs4lc.org.uk to book a place. 

Read More: 

• Harrogate Chocolate Factory hosts business networking event
• Success of Harrogate pop-up shop continues

Details have been published of events in Harrogate’s Valley Gardens over the four-day holiday to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The free events have been organised by Harrogate Borough Council, are for all ages, and include magicians, juggling shows, fairground rides, live music performances and mini discos.

Thursday 2 June

• 10am until 4pm – Face painting
• 10am until 6pm – Fairground rides, climbing wall, character meet and greet
• 12noon until 1pm – Children’s show and mini-disco on the bandstand
• 11am, 1pm and 3pm – Juggling show on the bandstand

Friday 3 June

• 10am – Harrogate Borough Mayor Councillor Victoria Oldham officially opens the event
• 10am and 1pm – Pantasy steel band (various locations)
• 10am until 4pm – Face painting
• 10am until 6pm – Artisan market, fairground rides, climbing wall, character meet and greet
• 11am until 12noon – Live performance from Harrogate Operatic Players, Ripon Operatic Players, Phoenix Players and St Andrew’s Players ‘songs from the shows’
• 12 noon until 1pm – Children’s show and mini-disco on the bandstand
• Juggling shows in various locations throughout the day

Saturday 4 June

• 10am until 1pm – Pantasy steel band in the bandstand
• 10am until 2pm – Face painting
• 10am until 6pm – Artisan market, fairground rides, climbing wall, character meet and greet
• 12 noon until 1pm – Children’s show and mini-disco on the bandstand
• Juggling shows in various locations throughout the day
• Magician and magic shows throughout the day in various locations

Sunday 5 June

• 10am until 4pm – Artisan market
• 10am until 4pm – Face painting
• 10am until 4pm – Character meet and greet
• 10am until 6pm – Fairground rides and climbing wall
• 11am until 12noon – Knot Another Choir live on the bandstand
• 12noon until 1pm – Children’s show and mini-disco on the bandstand
• Juggling shows throughout the day in various locations
• Magician and magic shows throughout the day in various locations

Councillor Andy Paraskos, the council’s cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:

“Valley Gardens provides the perfect backdrop for our four day event to celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

“There will be children’s entertainers, magicians, jugglers, face-painting, rides, live music performances, an artisan market and much more. There truly is something for everyone and even better, it’s all free.”

Sponsored by broadband provider Boundless Networks, the Stray Ferret has compiled a list of events across the district over the big jubilee weekend. click on the banner below for details.

Harrogate Bus Company has announced that it will be offering free rides on its electric services during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The free service will run as part of the long weekend from Thursday, June 2, until Sunday, June 5.

The move has been made in partnership with Harrogate BID ahead of the jubilee celebrations.

It will apply to all electric routes in the Harrogate town network, including:

• Routes 2A and 2B – Harrogate and Bilton
• Route 3 – Harrogate and Jennyfield
• Route 6 – Harrogate and Pannal Ash

In a tweet, Alex Hornby, chief executive of Transdev, said:

“The jubilee freeway is the best way to all celebrations in Harrogate”.

Read more:

• Platinum Jubilee Harrogate district: What’s On
• Harry Gration to speak at charity jubilee dinner

Preparations for the platinum jubilee are well underway with events planned across the Harrogate district.

The Stray Ferret has compiled a What’s On diary of all the events across the district. You can read up on the celebrations here.

Harrogate District’s Chamber of Commerce is due to hold its monthly Business Safari event.

The members-only speed networking event will be held next week at St George’s Hotel.

You can sign up to the monthly agenda through the Harrogate Chamber website.

Plant competition for school children hosted by Johnsons of Whixley

Johnsons of Whixley in Harrogate is holding a competition for primary school children.

To celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee and gardening, £250 worth of plants will be sent to the winner’s school, including ten plants for their own home garden. Those in second and third place will also win a plant.

Children under the age of 11 can participate by drawing an imaginative Jubilee Garden. The form can be downloaded here.

Children must create a drawing of a jubilee garden as part of the competition

JW is a three-generation run family business which grows and supplies trees, shrubs and plants to UK-wide planting schemes.

The company plays an active part in the community, having collected donations for Ukraine and providing plants to Baby Rainbow Memorial Garden last month.

Read More:

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A team of dedicated knitters are creating Ripon’s royal miles of bunting to wrap around the city in celebration of the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

The all-woman Knit and Natter Club has combined needlecraft and design skills to make masses of red, white and blue bunting emblazoned with golden crowns and  the initials E:R.

With less than two months to go until the extended June bank holiday jubilee weekend, organiser Hazel Barker told the Stray Ferret:

“We have received hundreds of requests from shops, businesses and other organisations in Ripon, who want to decorate their buildings to mark the Queen’s 70 years on the throne.

“We’ve still got a little way to go, but we are getting there.”

Collectively, thousands of hours of unrelenting effort has gone into this proud production line.

Mrs Barker, who was made a Freeman of the City of Ripon, for services to the community, said:

” At our homes we are spending every spare minute beavering away making the various elements of the bunting, from flags to the emblems of the four UK countries.

“A group of us then meet on Mondays to create the displays in readiness for them to go on everything from railings to retail premises, the town hall and the entrance to Spa Gardens.”

The knitters meet weekly at Hazel House, in the grounds of Community House

The weekly meetings are at Hazel House – a building in the grounds of Community House, named in honour of Mrs Barker for her work with the Girlguiding Association.

In addition to this, other knitters work from home, with regular supplies of wool provided for them.

The team, totalling 30, is also responsible for the countless hours of behind-the-scenes work that creates Ripon’s Remembrance displays.

They are part of the Ripon Community Poppy Project, founded by Mrs Barker and Councillor Stuart Martin, to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War  in 2018.

Funding for the project

The community project is funded by donations from members of the public and businesses and supported by organisations such as the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and an army of volunteers who put up the displays.

For the platinum  jubilee display, £2,500 of the sum used to buy the wool, netting and other materials was raised from the sale of decorative covid masks with Christmas designs on them.

And it comes as no surprise to discover that those whose painstaking work will be seen on the city streets in June, are the women behind the masks as well.

Read more:

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• Will regeneration of a Ripon pub site reduce crime?

A new avenue of locally-sourced English oak trees has been planted by Newby Hall’s gardeners as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy project.

The UK-wide initiative is designed to provide a lasting and eco-friendly reminder  of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.

A blessing ceremony conducted by the Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd. John Dobson, was attended by the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Mrs Jo Ropner, and pupils from nearby Skelton Newby Hall CE Primary School.

The children helped to plant the last of the 34 trees that make up the avenue. They and future generations of pupils from the village school, will assist with maintenance of the oaks as they grow to maturity.

The new avenue of English oak will add to the sylvan splendour of Newby Hall

The avenue, south of the hall’s main gates and on a popular walking route for local residents, replaces lime trees that had reached the end of their life.

To be known as Jubilee Avenue, it will provide a backdrop for a bench being supplied by Skelton Cum Newby Parish Council.

Read more:

• Ripon’s Jubilee horn will blast out for the Queen
• Sharow school plants tree for the Queen

Grade I listed Newby Hall, which remains in private ownership as the family home of Mr and Mrs Richard Compton. is one of the UK’s finest Adam Houses.

It was first opened to the public in the 1950s and the 2022 season starts on 1 April.

Mr Compton said:

“We are delighted to play our part in enhancing our environment by planting this wonderful avenue of oaks which will not only benefit future generations but creates a legacy in celebration of Her Majesty’s 70 years of service and leadership of our great nation.”

Harrogate district residents can apply for grants of up to £1,000 for events that celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

Harrogate Borough Council announced today it has launched a £15,000 community grants scheme to help people enjoy the extended bank holiday from June 2 to 5.

Applications can be made for grants of between £200 and £1,000 for events and activities taking place over the Jubilee bank holiday.

Organisations can also apply for up to £2,000 for legacy projects that must be completed by September 30.

Council leader Richard Cooper said:

“I’m delighted that we can offer grants to help celebrate the Her Majesty The Queen’s platinum jubilee.

“We’re looking for some really creative ideas that will remember the impact this momentous event has across the country. Whether that’s an art project, street decoration or legacy project, we want you to apply before the closing date in April.”

Read more:

• Street party fees waived in North Yorkshire for Queen’s jubilee
• Knaresborough reveals plans to celebrate Queen’s platinum jubilee
• Ripon gala concert will celebrate the Queen’s jubilee

A council press release said applicants must be able to show a clear link to the jubilee celebrations. It added:

“Proposals are welcome from parish and town councils, voluntary and community groups and schools that are wanting to host a community activity or legacy project that benefits the wider community.”

Guidance notes and an online application form are available here.

The closing date for all applications is noon on Friday April 8. Applicants will be notified of the decision the week commencing April 25.

People in the Harrogate district can apply for road closures free of charge for celebrations marking the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

The nation will mark the Jubilee with a four-day bank holiday weekend from Thursday June 2 to Sunday June 5.

North Yorkshire County Council announced today it would waive standard £300 street closure fees for the long weekend. The will apply to residential streets.

County Councillor Don Mackenzie, executive member for highways and the Conservative representative for Harrogate Saltergate, said:

“To show our support we are waiving the normal administration fee and allowing residents to close their streets to through-traffic.

“This will create a safe open space for communities to come together for the anniversary to mark the Queen’s extraordinary 70-year reign. Please come forward and organise a street party in your community.”

Read more:

• Knaresborough reveals plans to celebrate Queen’s platinum jubilee
• Ripon gala concert will celebrate the Queen’s jubilee

The council website says:

“In order to close the road to traffic for a street party, the council must go through a legal process required by the Town Police Clauses Act 1847. This will incur costs in the region of £300.”

County council leader Carl Les said:

“We recognise the significance of 2022 as the platinum jubilee year for Her Majesty the Queen and know how passionate our communities are to celebrate this special event.

“There will be a host of events taking place in North Yorkshire, which we will announce in due course and we have already pledged our support for the Queen’s green canopy tree-planting initiative.”

Anybody wishing to host a street party must apply before April 29, 2022. For more information click here.

Trees will be planted this weekend in Harrogate, Ripon, Knaresborough, Pateley Bridge and Boroughbridge as part of an initiative to mark the Queen’s platinum jubilee.

The Queen’s Green Canopy, which was created as part of celebrations for the Queen’s 70 years on the throne, which invites people from across the United Kingdom to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’.

Trees will be planted in Valley Gardens and on Wetherby Road in Harrogate, at Jacob Smiths Park in Knaresborough, at High Cleugh in Ripon, at Pateley Bridge Recreation Ground and at Boroughbridge Recreation Ground on Sunday.

All but one tree at each of the locations has been planted already. The final tree ones will planted this weekend to coincide with Her Majesty’s accession day.

Harrogate borough mayor, Councillor Trevor Chapman, will unveil the ceremonial tree in Valley Gardens, Harrogate at 2pm.

The Lord Lord-Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Johanna Ropner, will join Councillor Andy Paraskos to unveil the ceremonial tree at Boroughbridge Recreation Ground at 11am.

Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones will join the mayor of Knaresborough, Councillor Christine Willoughby, at Jacob Smith Park in Knaresborough at 1pm.

Read more:

• Harrogate landscaping boss tells of lucky escape from falling tree
• Stray Gardener: Create a legacy and plant a tree
• 100 trees to be planted in Harrogate district for Queen’s jubilee

Cllr Eamon Parkin, the mayor of Ripon and Cllr Mike Holt, the mayor of Pateley Bridge, will plant trees in their respective locations.

Species being planted include elm, oak, hornbeam, sycamore and lime.

Individuals, town and parish councils, community groups, schools, businesses and landowners will be encouraged to plant tress during the planting season from October to March.

White Rose Forest

The Queen’s Green Canopy will coincide with the council’s plans to plant thousands of trees in Bilton Beck Wood and Willow Wood, Harrogate and Upper Horse Shoe Fields, Knaresborough as part of the White Rose Forest partnership.

The White Rose Forest is the community forest for North and West Yorkshire being created by local authorities, landowners, businesses and communities.

Councillor Andy Paraskos, Harrogate Borough Council’s cabinet member for environment, waste reduction and recycling, said:

“The Queen’s Green Canopy is a wonderful opportunity for us to not only honour Her Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee but also help address the climate situation and deliver carbon reduction initiatives throughout the Harrogate district.

“Similar to the White Rose Forest project, we want to encourage as many people as possible in the district to get involved to improve air quality and biodiversity.”

Sarah Wells, community manager at Bettys & Taylors Group, which has supported the scheme, said:

“Trees remain very close to our hearts at Bettys & Taylors and we are delighted to support this unique project which not only highlights the importance of climate action, but also the positive impact of community collaboration. We hope that these trees will be enjoyed by residents and visitors to the area for many years to come.”