Today’s early May bank holiday has seen a buzz of activity on Ripon Market Square as the Little Bird Artisan Market returned.
About 40 independent businesses are selling homemade local products and handmade goods, including clothing, jewellery, hand-crafted wooden items and food.
It is the first public event to be staged by Ripon City Council for 18 months.
Jackie Crozier, owner and curator of Little Bird Artisan Markets, said:
“The Ripon artisan market celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit of the local traders, inviting visitors and residents to discover artisanal crafts from up-and-coming local businesses and further afield
“As someone who was born and lives in Ripon, I am very proud to hold events in the city I am passionate about.”
Artisan markets are planned throughout the rest of the year, along with activities on key dates in the city calendar.
Stalls were spaced out across all of Market Square to ensure that social distancing could be maintained.
Ripon also awaits the return of the of the ancient hornblower ceremony to Market Square.
Its return and the staging of larger-scale events is reliant upon the removal of government social distancing requirements.
Currently, the earliest this can happen is 21 June.
The covid lockdown wiped out all public and civic events planned by the council in 2020.
They included the 75th anniversary celebrations for VE Day, Saint Wilfrid’s procession, Remembrance Sunday, switch on of the Christmas lights and the New Year’s Eve entertainment
Andrew Williams, council leader and chair of the city council’s events committee, told the Stray Ferret:
“It’s great to be able to hold events for local people once more.
“As lockdown restrictions ease we aim to hold larger-scale activities that can be enjoyed by both residents and visitors.
“This will attract more footfall that is beneficial to shops, cafes, restaurants, pubs and our heritage attractions.