Ripon launches its UK Town of Culture 2028 bid
Ripon Theatre Festival is joining with partners across the city to bid for Town of Culture status. The bid was formally announced at our season Launch event on Friday 27 March to a packed house in Ripon Arts Hub.
Officially a city but home to just 17,000 people, Ripon is embracing its scale with the theme “Small City, Big Landscape.” Set at the meeting point of three rivers, the city combines its unbroken civic life stretching back over a millennium with a distinctive rural setting.
At the heart of the bid is the idea of “pilgrimage” – a unifying theme of journey, discovery, connection, growth, and healing – shaping a year-long, place-based cultural programme. Pilgrimage also encompasses the idea of Ripon’s close connection to its hinterland, and this bid led by the Uredale Community Partnership reflects that connection.
Charlie Studdy from the Culture and Green Space Working Group for the Uredale Community Partnership and a volunteer for Ripon Theatre Festival helped bring partners together across the city.
The national competition aims to spotlight under-recognised towns, with £3 million awarded to the winner and £250,000 for two finalists.
Read the full story on the Ripon Together website.
Photo credit: Ben Colson Photography