Yorkshire Day Celebrations

To celebrate Yorkshire Day a series of fun Yorkshire-themed activities will be taking place throughout the city centre over the weekend (30th July to 1st August), coordinated by Make It York, York BID and City of York Council. City centre streets will be decked out with Yorkshire bunting for the three-day celebrations, with local businesses across the city invited to dress their windows in all things Yorkshire.

Kicking off from Friday 30th July, residents and visitors are invited to take their best selfies with fun Yorkshire countryside themed props at selfie points located on Parliament Street and Tower Gardens. People are encouraged to get creative and snap their best Yorkshire photos and post to social media using #York_ShireDay #LoveYork and tagging in @VisitYork and @YorkBID for the chance to win a £250 York Gift Card each day.

Throughout the three days there will also be series of family-friendly movie screenings with big screens located on St Sampson’s Square and Tower Gardens. Running each day, family classics including ‘Chicken Run’, ‘Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit’ and ‘A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon’ will be screening with additional seating out for residents and visitors to sit back and enjoy the films. Archive footage of York from days gone by will also be airing throughout the day with a full film schedule available on visityork.org/yorkshire-day.

Some of the finest local products will also be taking centre stage, with York Gin, Crumbs Cupcakery and Love Cheese all with stalls on St Sampson’s Square, as well the Visit York Visitor Information Centre team being on hand with expert advice on making the most of York and Yorkshire.

As part of the celebrations York’s Civic party will also be welcoming a small number of Civic Heads from across Yorkshire to celebrate Yorkshire’s special status and York’s unique environment and cultural heritage in a Covid-safe way.

Helen Apsey, Head of Culture and Wellbeing at Make It York said: “We are so excited to celebrate Yorkshire Day in the city with a fun-packed weekend of activities for residents and visitors to get involved with. We are proud to be a Yorkshire city and it’s great to be able to celebrate this special day with local people, businesses and visitors to the city after what has been a difficult year for us all. We hope people will really enjoy all the themed activities this weekend and experience the fantastic ambience and atmosphere of York on Yorkshire Day.”

Andrew Lowson, Executive Director at York BID said: “We are delighted to be helping put the ‘York’ back into Yorkshire Day. With films, food and photo competitions there’s something for everyone to enjoy this weekend, in addition to the warm hospitality and top-class service that local businesses provide all year round.”

Cllr Keith Aspden, Leader of City of York Council, said: “Yorkshire Day is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate, and reflect on, all that is great about our city and county.

“As a region famed for the strength of character of its residents, the last 19 months have shown how our communities come together in the face of adversity. Their resilience, compassion and understanding has showcased the very best of our county.

“Those attributes of tolerance, understanding and respect, which have been so important throughout the pandemic, will help us to continue to support one another as, together, we take the next steps into new ways of living and working.”

“I’m looking forward to enjoying archive Yorkshire films in St Sampson’s Square, seeing the Chicken Run in Tower Gardens, as well as welcome different Mayors from across Yorkshire to enjoy our city”

Find out more at visityork.org/yorkshire-day

ENDS

Notes to Editor

Make It York

Make It York’s purpose is to develop and promote the city and its surroundings – nationally and internationally - as a vibrant and attractive place to live, visit, study, work and do business. The company’s remit covers leisure and business tourism, city centre management, festivals and events, business support and inward investment.

For further information please contact:

Amy Goodman – Consumer Communications Manager
Email: amy.goodman@makeityork.com

Ana Ignatova – Communications Executive

Email: ana.ignatova@makeityork.com