Beverley Festival of Christmas successfully returns for its 25th year

Beverley celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Festival of Christmas on Sunday with thousands of visitors safely enjoying the festivities.

Each year, on the second Sunday in December, the centre of Beverley is transformed into a magical Christmas shopper’s wonderland, with over 110 stalls brimming with gorgeous Christmas gifts and local treats take over the historic market town.

This year, the festival opened with the Christmas Parade which set off from Wednesday Market to Saturday Market. There were four traditional Victorian Christmas Markets nestled within Saturday Market, Wednesday Market, North Bar Within and Flemingate Shopping Centre.

The festivities carry on into this week with the Made in East Yorkshire Christmas market in Saturday Market running until Friday 17 December, opening at 10am and finishing at 8pm each evening with an array of festive entertainment and activities planned throughout the whole week as well as late night shopping within the town. The FREE park and ride facility at Beverley Racecourse is still available with shuttles approximately every 20 minutes.

Be COVID-19 safe

Health and safety is a priority that everyone must partake in whilst enjoying the market. Prior to attending the market please remain vigilant for COVID-19 symptoms, if anyone in your household'¯develops any of the three main symptoms of COVID-19 - a new continuous cough, a high temperature or a change or loss of taste or smell, or generally feels unwell, they should'¯stay at home and get a PCR test. COVID-19 is still at large, particularly within the wider community where we are seeing high numbers of infections, so in the interests of keeping everyone safe from the risk of transmission, we kindly request that all visitors over the age of 11 take a rapid asymptomatic Lateral Flow Test (LFT), which presents a negative result, before travelling to the market.  

If you are unable to get rapid LFT kits from your local council venues, school, workplace or a local pharmacy, packs can be ordered from here: www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests. If you cannot order online, please call 119. 

Please do not attend the market if you are currently self-isolating with symptoms or testing positive for COVID-19 infection.

The Made in East Yorkshire Christmas Market is adhering to COVID-19 safe protocols so where possible please make use of the extra measures in place such as hand sanitiser stations, one-way systems, and crowd management. Face coverings (unless exempt) are now required in shops and on public transport, they are also strongly recommended in busy or enclosed spaces such as large crowds.

Councillor Jane Evison, portfolio holder for economic development and tourism at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “It was wonderful to see so many people come out and enjoy the Festival of Christmas on Sunday. The festival really is one of the highlights of the calendar and there were some wonderful stalls and entertainment on offer for everyone to make the most of.

“The Made in East Yorkshire Christmas Market is also now underway, so it is a great opportunity for residents and visitors to the area to come into Beverley if they weren’t able to make it on Sunday. The market will consist of entertainment, foods, drinks and crafts and our businesses in the town centre have also been encouraged to stay open and make the most of visitors to Saturday Market. I would also encourage visitors to the market to take personal responsibility and follow the safety guidelines. It was great to see so many people enjoying the Festival on Sunday in a respectful manner to other visitors and I would encourage everyone to follow the COVID advice on their visit.”