The sun shone on Saturday for the Spring Food, Home & Garden Fair at Ripon Cathedral with hundreds of families pouring through the doors to enjoy a great day out. Visitors came from all over Yorkshire to see the baby animals which were kindly provided by Riggmoor Reindeer Co, with Jeffery the donkey and Bullseye the horse proving to be the stars of the show, posing for photographs with the Dean of Ripon, the Very Rev John Dobson.

Brick Box Yorkshire delighted children with the opportunity to build and create models using Brick Box’s enormous quantity of Lego.  The Ripon Cathedral Chocolate Tombola was also a great draw for children and adults alike, with the chocolate generously donated by Hemingways of Ripon.

The plant stall was also a huge draw for gardeners; selling affordable home-grown plants and vegetables it was organised and manned by cathedral volunteers.

Over 80 other independent traders selling gardening goods, tasty food treats, homewares and gifts from all over Yorkshire, were exhibiting at the fair.

There was a great buzz of activity and excitement throughout the day – the pop-up café served pulled pork sandwiches, cakes and hot drinks, while visitors were treated to live music throughout the day from six different groups, one of the highlights being All for One Choir, Ripon, with over 120 members making a fabulous sound throughout the cathedral.

The event raised in excess of £16,000 towards the mission, heritage conservation, music, education programme and running costs of Ripon Cathedral. We would like to thank all the hard-working cathedral volunteers who helped to make the event such a great success. We would also like to thank our main sponsor The Inn Collection Group and our Principal Business Partners, Raworths of Harrogate for their generous support along with all the local businesses who generously provided us with raffle prizes and a special mention should go to Sainsburys, Morrisons and Aldi supermarkets for their generous catering donations.

Visitors were fascinated with the plans on display at The Inn Collection Group’s stand, demonstrating the new job opportunities which will be available when the new Ripon Inn opens its doors later this year providing much needed bed space in the city of Ripon.

The Food, Home and Garden Fair will take place again on Saturday April ??? 2024, please make a note of the date and join us.

We hope you can also join us at another event at Ripon Cathedral soon. The annual Ripon Cathedral Beer Festival takes place on May Day Bank Holiday, Monday May 8.  Tickets are available online now at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ripon-cathedral-beer-festival-2023-tickets-547762461267

For more information, please contact Jo Bussey, Development Director on jobussey@riponcathedral.org.uk

ENDS

 Notes to Editors

The Inn Collection Group create inns where everyone would like to eat, drink, sleep, and explore from currently.  The groups portfolio covers Yorkshire, Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, the Lake District, Lancashire and North Wales.  These are exciting times for The Inn Collection Group as they evolve and grow.  The group are looking forward to opening their new inn – The Ripon Inn, formerly The Ripon Spa Hotel later in summer 2023.  Hence the group are currently recruiting team members who can deliver outstanding customer service and experience in their new hotel in Ripon.  For further information, please visit https://www.inncollectiongroup.com/careers/

Contact: Chris Moor, Operations Manager Email: Chris.moor@inncollectiongroup.com