Hundreds gathered on Ripon Market Square yesterday evening as the city council signalled the beginning of the festive season with its Christmas lights switch-on.

With heavy rain relenting by early afternoon, the crowd, largely made up of family groups, grew throughout the day, visiting the square to see Santa and his reindeer and enjoy the free fairground rides and musical entertainment.

Families met with Santa and his reindeer Alfie, Dancer and Izzy

Among the early visitors to see Santa were two-year-old Taylor, her 12-year-old brother Toby and their mother Catherine (pictured above).

The three free fairground rides proved popular throughout the afternoon and into the evening

Live musical entertainment was provided from 2pm by local singer-songwriter Freddie Cleary, and tribute acts Tamsin and Kaylie and Jersey Beyond (pictured below)

By 5pm when the Mayor of Ripon Cllr Sid Hawke performed the switch-on, the large crowd was in festive mood, joining with him in singing We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

The Christmas lights on Kirkgate

Among those hoping that Ripon’s traders have a happy and successful festive season is city council leader Cllr Andrew Williams.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“This is going to be a very challenging end of year for the vast majority of people with the cost of living crisis meaning they have less disposable income to spend.”

He added:

“We hope, however, that the lights will help to attract increased footfall and provide a festive boost to the city’s economy with local residents, as well as visitors, supporting Ripon’s independent shops, cafes, restaurants and pubs by spending their money here.”

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Ripon Vision Support,  which helps people with all kinds of visual impairment, has received a £7,000 boost that will enable it to extend its services.

The charity was selected as one of two beneficiaries of the appeal monies raised by former Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin.

The other recipient of a £7,000 award was the Ripon Christmas Lights Appeal, which Cllr Parkin championed during his three consecutive years in office.

He told the Stray Ferret:

“I am delighted to be able to share the £14,000 raised between the two causes and would like to thank the people of Ripon who supported me, with special mention for appeal treasurer Pearl Coates and secretary Joyce Maguire, who were with me all of the way.”

A meeting of Ripon Vision Support

Cllr Parkin, pointed out:

“My term of office was extended twice because of the covid pandemic, which also impacted on the amount of money raised for my appeal, because so many fundraising events had to be cancelled.

“In spite of this, through the limited amount of events that we were able to hold, the community spirit and generosity of local people shone through.”

While the money raised for the Christmas lights will go towards further improvements to the city’s 2022 festive display, Ripon Vision Support will use its share for further development of its activities.

Chair of the charity John Mellor, said:

“This is a tremendous boost for us and literally doubles the amount of money that we have in the bank.

“It will help us to extend our services and we are most grateful to Cllr Parkin for selecting us as one of his chosen charities during his years of office.”

Ripon Vision Support’s Tuesday morning meetings at the Allhallowgate Methodist Church Hall, are open to anybody in the city with any form of visual impairment.

They provide a platform for social gathering, advice and practical assistance and each meeting is attended speakers who give topical talks on a wide range of subjects.

Mr Mellor, said:

“We welcome new members and anybody wishing to join us can is asked to get in touch.”

Further details are available by clicking here.

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A lady from Hutton Conyers, near Ripon, has earnt the title locally as Mrs Claus after organising Christmas lights displays on her house for the past decade.

Rosamund Robinson, known as Roz, lives with her husband Bill and is a Christmas fanatic.

During the festive season you will often find her dressed in a sparkly jumper or even as a reindeer going round the village delivering presents to children.

Christmas is her favourite time of the year and despite being a 77 year-old retiree she has no plans to slow down.

She says she “has a good few years left of lights in me” and with the help of her family, including three daughters, she will continue putting on her light displays.

Roz was nominated for the Stray Ferret’s Christmas Lights Competition by her granddaughter Lauren Kelly. The competition was sponsored by Yorkshire Lighting and Electrical Services.

She was announced as the winner on Tuesday night.

She said:

“I think it’s brilliant, more people have come to look at the lights which means more donations for the hospital. Even the bin men that came this morning recognised me from the Facebook live!”

Roz was “so pleased” to win the Christmas lights competition.

This is the first year Roz has put a collection box out for the lights. She wanted to raise money for Ripon Hospital as a way to thank them for looking after several members of her family in previous years. She added:

“They’re amazing at the hospital every time I visit I feel like I’ve known the staff for years. They are so lovely and this year they have worked so hard that they deserved a little boost.”

Her collection pot currently stands at £1,000.

For winning the competition Roz was gifted a £150 Lights4Fun voucher which she said is also going to the hospital to allow them to buy some new lights for next Christmas.

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The lights were put up on November, 1 and are lit up from 4.30pm to 9pm every day.

After New Years Day Roz brings a team together to bring them all down, which she says takes a few days.

“I’ve already started thinking about next year’s display. After doing it for so long people expect me to keep it going. I just really love Christmas and the fact I’ve been able to raise money doing something I love is great.”

Ripon and Nidderdale Mumbler has teamed up with nine sponsors to create a free, family-friendly, city centre Christmas trail.

Some of Santa’s hard-working elves are taking a break from working at the North Pole to make their way to the city to hide in the windows of shops, cafes, an estate agents and the library.

The Great Ripon Elf Hunt has been designed to be safe, fun and completely free.

It will start on Saturday, running each day through to Christmas Eve – Thursday 24  December

There will be nine different elves in the windows of participating city centre businesses and Ripon Library.

Once all of the elves have been found, families can go into any of the participants and pick up a reward left by Santa – or simply do the trail for fun.

Just one of the nine elves that are ready to go into hiding

Families are being asked to download and print their own answer sheets from the Ripon and Nidderdale Mumbler website and bring pens or pencils.

A limited number of answer sheets will be available at all business premises and the library.

Organiser Niki, from Ripon and Nidderdale Mumber, told the Stray Ferret:

“It has been a difficult year for everyone. I was inspired by the amazing trails happening in other cities and towns, but wanted to create something a bit closer to home for Ripon!

“My hope is that the trail will encourage people into Ripon to finish their Christmas shopping and that it will increase footfall for lots of businesses around the centre whilst also being a fun afternoon for all the family!”

The Great Ripon Elf Hunt is COVID-secure and does not require entrants to go into premises, as all window displays will be visible from the street.

Those taking part are asked to do the trail in groups of no more than 6, or within their household or support bubble.

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Niki, added:

“We hope this will encourage families to visit Ripon, use the wonderful range of shops we have and be a great afternoon of entertainment for the family.”

To spread the word, families are requested to tag Ripon and Nidderdale Mumbler in any social media posts and use the hashtag #GreatRiponElfHunt

The  supporting businesses and organisations are: Appleton’s, Caffe Tempo, Cathedral View Cafe, Davis & Lund Estate Agents, Karma, Oliver’s Pantry, Ripon Library, Solemates, and The Easy Learning Shop.