A campaign is underway to inject an improved festive atmosphere into Ripon by decorating the iconic city centre with an artistic white display this Christmas, but community input is needed if it is to realise its ambition.
It’s hoped that a fundraising campaign hosted by spacehive.com will help create a Christmas Light display that is more representative of the town’s stature and quality.
The proposed installation will be in the Market Square, which is considered the iconic focal point of the city, and boasts a pedestrianized area great space for putting on a programme of activities and entertainment. During the Christmas period this will be a particular draw for residents and visitors alike, in turn having a knock-on effect for all parts of the City Centre. A strong visual stimulus is essential to saturate the area with festive spirit. Festive spirit means footfall, so businesses and residents are urged to help make this vision a reality by visiting:
www.spacehive.com/riponchristmaslights and pledging a contribution.
Ripon City Council have earmarked tens of thousands of pounds towards the legacy of these lights- including their installation, removal and storage for 4 years from 2014 to 2017, but they are unable to commit to the capital purchase of the proposed lights from the specialist supplier.
The nature of a spacehive.com pledge means that money will only be collected in the event of the target figure being reached.
The Christmas Light Switch-on will take place on 23rd November 2013 and is being led by the City Development Team, working in conjunction with the Discover Ripon partners including Ripon Festivals and the Ripon & District Chamber of Trade & Commerce.
The emerging programme of Christmas events and activities will be incomplete without a festive buzz, and it’s hoped that the community will come together bring seasonal warmth and vibrancy to the city centre.
