 The Government's Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, has announced a new competition to pick the first ever UK Town of Culture. The competition is based on the long-established and very successful City of Culture competition, and is aimed at small and medium-sized towns.
Now our Community Interest Company is putting together an ambitious plan to bid for the new title. Quite right, too! For a town of about 8,000 people, Richmond packs an astonishing amount of theatre, music, sport, festivals, museums, heritage and arts events into its narrow confines, and attracts cultural visitors from a huge hinterland. What other towns of our size can offer a three-screen cinema, a thriving professional theatre, a - But we'll stop there. Mustn't pre-empt the application! To be kept posted, or to chip in your own ideas, contact [email protected].
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 Here's another sign of Spring!
For two weeks every year, in May and June, the Swaledale Festival returns to the northern Yorkshire Dales and Richmond. The artists are of the highest international standard, and come from all over the world. With a record 75 events of all kinds (talks, guided walks, classical music, folk music, brass bands and jazz, art exhibitions, poetry and comedy) the Festival is reason enough to book a stay in the Dales - and many people do! The full programme is at swalefest.org. Booking opens 16 February, but be warned... Festival Friends will have had two weeks of advance booking by then. If you're not a Friend, get your shopping list ready now, and move quickly on the 16th - because some events can sell out very fast! All events are individually priced, so you can drop in and out of the Festival as you like. Venues range from tiny chapels to 300-seater auditoriums, from the giddy heights of upper Swaledale to the broad acres of lower Wensleydale. Need somewhere to stay? Take a look at our Accommodation section, for hotels, inns, B&Bs and snug cottages in some of England's loveliest countryside. Nothing, but nothing, can beat the experience of leaving an evening concert at St Andrew's Church in Grinton, to see the summer sun setting on Fremington Edge. Magic...  One of Richmondshire's favourite local attractions has been hibernating over winter, but Kiplin Hall will soon be welcoming visitors again.
Not discovered Kiplin yet? You should. Explore the Jacobean house, its walled garden, its 90 acres of parkland and woods. Revel in every weak ray of the early-Spring sunshine, and every tiny snowdrop shoot - soon they'll be carpeting the ground. There's no need to bring a thermos and sandwiches - you can enjoy a light meal and a drink in the warmth of the Tea Room, or outdoors on the patio, if you're hardy. If you're even hardier, find a breezy picnic bench by the lakeside walk! Kiplin is open 10-5 daily (except Thursdays) from 6 February. No booking is needed. Day tickets are £13, or £6.50 for children (or £25.50 and £12.50 for one-year tickets, which sounds like a real bargain). Dogs on leads are welcome, and they love the place!  Lucy Pittaway is a multi-award-winning British artist based in Yorkshire, renowned for her vibrant, whimsical pastel artwork. Her style is characterised by its 'naïve' and imaginative quality, often featuring bright colours, lollipop-shaped trees, and her signature 'round sheep' characters. Her work is inspired by her life in Yorkshire, focusing on family, the outdoors and animals (especially sheep, Highland cows, and dogs). Her aim is to create "art that makes you smile," emphasising happiness, hope, and rejuvenation. No wonder she has been named the UK’s Most Popular Selling Published Artist, three times!
A selection of her works will be on display, and for sale, in the Mezzanine Gallery at The Station from 16 January to 10 February. Why not pick up a print or an original to brighten your walls this winter? Read more about Lucy at www.lucypittaway.co.uk  The panto at Richmond's Georgian Theatre Royal is famous for all kinds of reasons: knitted toys being flung around the auditorium (footnote 1); Tunnock's Teacakes (footnote 2); and fabulously good, traditional, family-friendly pantos on the tiny stage.
This year's pantomime is Cinderella, which runs until 10 January, with matinee and evening performances. There will be amazing song and dance routines, fantastic sets and special effects, huge amounts of laughter, plenty of audience participation, and lots of dreadful jokes and terrible puns. You can bet that every performance will be jam-packed, as always, so if you're planning to take a party do be sure to book right now! Six performances are already sold out. Don't delay! Seats are still available at most performances! Tickets and information are at the Georgian Theatre's website. (1) Knitted toys? Why? Why not! The reason is lost in the mists of history. (2) Tunnock's Teacakes? Whether you love them or loathe them or have no idea what they are, you're likely to find them raining down on you. But why teacakes? Err - tradition?  There's a family fireworks display on Reeth Green at 19:00 on New Year's Eve. A barbecue too! (Cash onl, please.)
There's no admission charge, but a collection will be taken to support future village events. Reeth is a great place to see fireworks, particularly if we're blessed with a clear, black sky.  If you've got far-off friends or relatives who've caught the Yorkshire Dales bug, Richmond Information Centre is here to help!
We've a terrific range of guidebooks, calendars and local histories in stock, including our most popular local publications:
You can find details here of the publications above; you can even order them online. Better still, drop into our pod in Richmond's Market Hall, to see our full range, including hundreds of charity Christmas cards If you've got a mate from the office who's always fancied doing the Coast-to-Coast Path, or an auntie in Calgary who has fond memories of that pint of Old Peculier which she enjoyed in Langstrothdale, we can solve your Christmas gift crisis here.  It's all go in December at The Station, Richmond's famous multi-activity venue!
The Station Cafe/Bar is offering a Christmas menu daily until the 21st: two-course, three-course and children's options, from 12:00 to 20:00. And there's a Christmas Tea offer, from 14:00 to 19:00 over the same period - a great way to get together with friends. (Maybe watch a film afterwards?) It's advance reservation only for these events, so call 01748 825967 to book! Then what about an evening of dining and jazz on Friday the 12th or Saturday the 13th? Combine a delicious two-course seasonal dinner with entertainment from the Joseph Carville trio. £30 pp (drinks extra) - same number as above. Father Christmas will be on duty, with Mrs Claus, inside the Present Sorting Office, on selected dates until the 14th. This event is suitable for children aged 1-12. Timed slots must be booked, and the price includes a small gift. Visit Santa for details. All round The Station, meanwhile, the ever-popular Spot on the Wall exhibition returns, with a fantastic range of original photos, paintings, sculptures, fabrics and crafts by talented local makers - and they're all for sale, so you can walk away with a special Christmas gift! Free entry, daily until 13 January. The Station Cinema has its own programme of Christmas specials, of course. Polar Express, Andre Rieu in Concert, The Nutcracker (broadcast live from Covent Garden), It's a Wonderful Life - all these in addition to the Cinema's usual and varied programme of films. The Station - so much good stuff under one big roof!  Richmond Market Place will be packed with stalls, entertainments, fairground rides and more on 7 December, from 10:00 to 16:00.
Discover Santa's Grotto; bop along to the sounds of the Samba Band or the Ran Taners; hoot with laughter at the Mummers' Play; follow the delicious scents of the street food; join the Santa Fun Run. There'll be plenty to keep you and your family entertained and fed. And it's a great chance to snag some unusual Christmas gifts! Away from the Market Place, you'll find festive activities for children at the Richmondshire Museum, a craft fair in the Town Hall, a huge selection of charity Christmas cards at Richmond Information Centre in the Market Hall, a Vintage Christmas pop-up show at The Station, and a performance of Christmas Concertos and Carols by the Richmond Chamber Orchestra (in Leyburn, but worth the trip!) More details at richmondchristmasfair on Facebook.  The panto at Richmond's Georgian Theatre Royal is famous for all kinds of reasons: knitted toys being flung around the auditorium (footnote 1); Tunnock's Teacakes (footnote 2); and fabulously good, traditional, family-friendly pantos on the tiny stage.
This year's pantomime is Cinderella, which runs from 2 December to 10 January, with matinee and evening performances. There will be amazing song and dance routines, fantastic sets and special effects, huge amounts of laughter, plenty of audience participation, and lots of dreadful jokes and terrible puns. You can bet that every performance will be jam-packed, as always, so if you're planning to take a party do be sure to book right now! Six performances are already sold out. Don't delay! Dust off your glass slippers today! Tickets and information are at the Georgian Theatre's website. (1) Knitted toys? Why? Why not! The reason is lost in the mists of history. (2) Tunnock's Teacakes? Whether you love them or loathe them or have no idea what they are, you're likely to find them raining down on you. But why teacakes? Err - tradition? |
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