Calling all crafters. Ripon Cathedral is appealing to people to knit, sew, crochet, paint or model white Yorkshire roses to add colour and vibrancy to a five-day festival that starts on the evening of April 28.
Ripon Cathedral Revealed, a festival of flowers, music, spirituality, food and drink, will feature installations of the handmade roses tumbling down the front of the building, like the ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, around the outside and on an archway and stands inside.
Canon Elizabeth Sewell, Canon Educator at the Cathedral, is keen that as many people as possible create Yorkshire roses. “We already have around fifty roses with many more promised. Schools are getting involved as well as clubs, groups and individuals. We have even have one school making metal and ceramic roses. My Learning Assistant, Moira Siara, and I, are happy to visit schools to inspire pupils and staff and to give advice,” she said.
“To encourage mass participation, we have crochet, sewing and knitting patterns available free from the cathedral shop or from our website. Alternatively, people can create their own patterns using whatever materials they wish and there are ideas available via internet search engines.”
“When the Tour de France started in Yorkshire, people responded in their hundreds, if not thousands, by knitting mini cycling shirts to be displayed at locations along the route. That is the spirit of hand-crafted community creativity we are looking to recapture for the festival.”
Inside roses should be no more than 6 inches in diameter, ideally with a safety pin attached to the back. Outside roses should be at least 6 inches in diameter and as large as you like and should be attached to a garden cane or a stick.
Once you have made your rose you can take it to the Cathedral Shop or post it to the Cathedral Office (Minster Road, Ripon. HG4 1QS) before the event enabling the first part of the installation to be in place as the festival opens, or simply bring it along during the festival and put it in place yourself.
Workshops to make more Yorkshire roses will be held during the festival to ensure that as many as possible are on display.
Tickets for the festival are now on sale on line at www.riponcathedral.info/revealed/ which also gives details of the many events that are happening. They cost £15 for the Jazz Preview Evening that launches the Festival and £8 for each day of the festival. Entry for children is free.