The organisers of Ripon's annual St Wilfrid's Procession have promised this year's event will be the 'biggest, boldest and most thrilling' to date.
The event returns from 12pm on Saturday 2nd August, featuring a traditional procession led by a costumed St Wilfrid on horseback.
The parade, made up of 16 entries, will wind through the streets with the Ripon City Band, Morris dancers, and dozens of community groups.
The day ends with a short service and awards at Ripon Cathedral.
There will be free children’s rides in the Market Square and a new ‘Round Up Ride’ for teens and adults - a thrilling vertical-spinner.
A spokesperson for the organising committee said:
“This much-loved event brings together the city’s history, creativity, and community pride in a spectacular day of entertainment and celebration.
“This isn’t just a day out, it’s a celebration of Ripon’s unique heritage and the incredible people who make it happen.”
Alongside the Hornblower this is one of the UK’s longest-running continuous community traditions.
It’s entirely funded by local business and council sponsors and delivered by volunteers.
Who was St Wilfrid?
St Wilfrid was born in 663 to a noble Northumbrian family and during his late teens, studied at the monastery on Lindisfarne before continuing to Canterbury and Rome to strengthen his devotion to the Roman Church.
Upon return from mainland Europe, Wilfrid returned to Northumbria before receiving a monastery in Ripon from the reigning King Oswiu’s son, Alhfrith, from where he continued his journey before dying in what is now Sussex in 709 / 710AD.
After his death, Wilfrid’s body was transferred to Ripon where he was buried and venerated as a saint, with his shrine being situated in Ripon Cathedral, roughly where the high alter is today.
Why the procession?
The St Wilfrid’s Procession dates back to 1108 when King Henry I granted a charter to the city to hold an annual feast each year around the 30th July.
Whether the charter is connected to the birth of St Wilfrid or the celebration of St Wilfrid’s return from unjust exile in around 705AD, has never been discovered.
For the latest updates, entry info, or to support the event, visit: www.stwilfridsprocession.com
Your Harrogate Radio's coverage of St Wilfrid's Procession is sponsored by Harrogate College, and you can listen to Pete Egerton speaking to the committee chairman Antony Prince below:
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