The summer may not have lived up to expectations for the often rainy and overcast weather, but that shouldn’t dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for the wealth of events that are being staged in North Yorkshire. We are lucky to have something for everyone in the county and below is a positive cornucopia of events and activities for all the family.

We can’t include everything here, so be sure to look out for events where you live.

If you are organising events, big or small, in North Yorkshire, please tell us and we’ll do our best to include it in a future issue. Email details to yny@northyorks.gov.uk.

Until 21 July

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival returns.

Featuring the announcement of the most coveted Award in Crime Fiction with the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, the programme includes special guests, panels and entertainment celebrating crime fiction at the crime-writing industry’s unofficial AGM.

It’s the friendliest festival with its feet firmly grounded in Yorkshire. Hang out with your heroes, get an exclusive insight into the next big thing, rub shoulders with the UK’s leading agents, editors and publishers. Be inspired and join in the drama at Agatha Christie’s old haunt, the Old Swan Hotel.

Curated by the 2024 festival programming chair, Ruth Ware, special guests include global bestsellers and fan favourites Chris Carter, Jane Casey, Elly Griffiths, Peter James, Erin Kelly, Vaseem Khan, Dorothy Koomson, Shari Lapena, Abir Mukherjee, Liz Nugent and Richard Osman.

For more information and ticket details, visit the Harrogate International Festivals website.

19 July to 20 July

Hampsthwaite Feast and Show takes place at the village of Hampsthwaite, near Harrogate. For more details email feast@hampsthwaite.org.uk or visit the Hampsthwaite Feast and Show website.

20 to 21 July

The Masham Steam Traction Engine Rally, celebrating Britain’s industrial heritage, features a large display of steam engines and veteran vehicles. There will also be fair organs, trade stands and an autojumble and craft tent among other attractions.

Entry costs £12 for adults, concessions £11 and children up to 16 £3. Under-fives get free admission and family tickets cost £25. For more information, email hello@mashamsteamrally.com or visit the Masham Steam Traction Engine Rally website.

20 July

Picton Show takes place at Picton near Yarm. There will be sports, a gymkhana and horticultural show. The show is open from 9am to 4pm. For information, email pictonshow69@outlook.com.

21 July

High Batts Nature Reserve is holding an open day at its site near North Stainley, Ripon, between 10am and 4pm. The event will feature guided walks around the reserve at 11am and 2pm. Visitors can view the birds from the comfort of the bird hides. There will also be children’s activities and a bird ringing demonstration. There’s also no charge for a reviving piece of cake and a cup of tea.

Find out more on the High Batts website.

Newby Hall will be surrounded by vintage and classic cars, for the North of England’s biggest one-day car show – the annual historic vehicle rally.

The event, which is organised by the North of England Classics and Pre-War Automobiles, attracts exhibitors from across the country. More than 1,000 vehicles of all makes, from Aston Martin to Wolseley, will be polished up by their owners and put on parade for one of the highlights of Newby’s opening season.

Tickets are priced at £45 for a family of two adults and two children, £15 for adults, £10 for children aged four to 15. Under-fours get free admission.

For more details, visit the Newby Hall website.

21 to 24 July

Goldsborough Hall at Goldsborough, near Knaresborough, will be opening for the National Garden Scheme. The grounds in July are full of interest and garden highlights include the rose garden planted including varieties such as Old China Blush, Little White Pet and Comte de Chambord, interplanted with lavender angustifolia ‘Old English’ and lined with lavender ‘Munstead’.

Hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and scones can be purchased on the day. There are free garden talks at 12pm and 2pm by the head gardener and there will be a plant stall on the terrace too.

Entry is £7.50 per adult, children free. Dogs on leads most welcome.

For more information, visit the Goldsborough Hall website.

22 July to 15 August

Staff at the North Yorkshire Outdoor Learning Service have been busy planning an exciting and inspiring range of experiences for the school holidays.

The Adventure Club will keep young people busy with activities such as climbing, caving, high ropes, river scrambling and water sports like canoeing and sailing. On family activity days, everyone gets a go. Or if your young person wants to sail the seven seas, a two-day accredited RYA Youth Sail course might be just the thing.

Enjoy a summer of fun and adventure and an outdoor experience like no other at Bewerley Park Outdoor Education Centre in Pateley Bridge or East Barnby Outdoor Education Centre in Whitby.

For more details and how to book, visit the North Yorkshire Outdoor Learning Service website.

24 July

Discover the fascinating world of bees and goats at the Herd and Hive creative family workshop at the Craven Museum in Skipton.

Learn new skills as you create and take home a bar of goat’s milk soap, a beeswax candle and a seed bomb, all made from natural ingredients sourced directly from the Herd and Hive farm.

Herd and Hive, located near Skipton and the winners of the Yorkshire Young Market Trader 2023 award, offers homegrown, handcrafted products available at the Skipton Town Hall gift shop and a stall on Skipton Market.

Sessions, suitable for anyone aged over five, are on at various times throughout the day. For more information and to book tickets, visit the Skipton Town Hall website.

25 to 28 July

Whitby Beer Festival is held in aid of the Whitby and District Lion’s Club. This year the festival is celebrating its 13th year. More than 30 of the very best artisan ales, boutique beers and ciders from award-winning local and regional independent brewers and micro-breweries will be on offer.

For more information, visit the Whitby and District Lions Club website.

27 July

Helmsley Arts Centre at the Old Meeting House Court in Helmsley is holding a social evening in the studio bar with the opportunity to hear local musicians and artists perform, or to perform yourself. The bar will be open serving beer from Helmsley Brewery and Brass Castle Brewery, an assortment of gins and wines from Helmsley Wines and more.

There is no need to book to listen or perform, and visitors can turn up from 7pm for the evening. A small PA will be available for performers. For more details, visit the Helmsley Arts Centre website.

27 and 28 July

Go back in time and get closer to the action as rival knights compete in the ultimate test of strength and skill at the Scarborough Castle Knights’ Tournament.

Swords will clash and the winner will be decided in the grand melee finale. Immerse yourself in the Middle Ages in the encampment, where reenactors will tell you all about medieval craft-making, weapon repairs, cooking and day-to-day life.

For timings and prices, visit the English Heritage website.

30 July

Ryedale Show will be held at Welburn Park in Kirkbymoorside.

The show was established in 1855 and is a traditional agricultural show renowned for its high standard of entries in all sections and trade stands that are at the event in ever growing numbers each year.

The show is run with both the farming community and townspeople's interests in mind and there are attractions for everyone of all ages.

For more information and ticket details, visit the Visit Pickering website.

1 August

The Great How Stean Duck Race, in aid of Yorkshire Air Ambulance and the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association, will be a fun family event. Both organisations provide essential emergency services for visitors and residents alike in such a remote part of Yorkshire.

The duck race begins at the top of the How Stean Gorge. Visitors will be able to follow the progress of the race from the bridge and into the gorge itself, where normal admission applies. Visitors in the cafe will also see from the partial glass-floored cafe overhanging the gorge.

The event starts at 10am at How Stean Gorge in Lofthouse and the cost is £5 per duck or £8 for two. For more details, visit the How Stean Gorge website.

3 August

Osmotherley Show takes place at Home Farm in Thimbleby. A traditional agricultural show, it runs from 10am to 10pm. Tickets are priced £8, £5 for children aged five to 11. There is free parking. For more details, visit the Osmotherley Show website.

St Wilfrid's Procession takes place in Ripon today. The procession sees brightly decorated floats driving round the city, generating a carnival atmosphere. An event that was traditionally held to mark the feast of St Wilfrid, it dates back to 1108 when King Henry I granted a Royal Charter to the city of Ripon to hold an annual fair. For more details, visit the St Wilfrid’s Procession website.

2, 3 and 4 August

Whitby Traction Engine Rally is held next to the famous ruins of the town’s abbey, only a 15-minute walk from the town centre and harbour.

Browse trade stands, working displays, funfair rides, children’s entertainment and visit the catering outlets and licensed bar.

For ticket information and timings, visit the Outdoor Shows website.

4 August

Richmond Artisan Fair is held in the 18th century Richmond Town Hall from 10am to 4pm. Situated in the centre of town surrounding by beautiful marketplace full of independent museums, shops, cafes and the Yorkshire Dales on the doorstep. Free entry, dogs welcome and lift access.

At Ripon's former prison, visitors will be able to join an experienced team of supernatural investigators for the evening.

Dating back to the 18th century, the prison has housed notorious criminals and has been a centrepiece of Ripon’s workhouse for the last century and allegedly remains to be the home of many supernatural spirits.

The cost is £40 and the event starts at 1am. For more details, visit the FX Paranormal website.

The Harrogate MG and Classic Car Club Show takes place at Bewerley Park in Pateley Bridge.

Running between 9am and 4pm, it is a classic car show for all makes of vehicles, with a specific MG competition within the event.

The show also features music, a dog show and refreshments.

Entry is £5 for adults, with accompanied children under-12 getting free admission. For more details, visit the Harrogate MG Club website.

6 August

A drystone walling demonstration will take places at the Dales Countryside Museum at Station Yard in Hawes. Visitors will be able to join Dales volunteers as they showcase the traditional craft of drystone walling between 11am and 3pm. They will explain the construction of this famous feature of the Yorkshire Dales National Park’s landscape.

Entry is included in the price of admission to the museum. For more details, visit the Yorkshire Dales website.

7 August

The Rivers2U mobile classroom will be parked outside the Dales Countryside Museum entrance at Station Yard in Hawes.

Visitors will be able to meet staff from the Yorkshire Dales Rivers Trust to find out about rivers and their wildlife. The event will also give information on how rivers form and identify the freshwater invertebrates which live in our rivers. For details, visit the Yorkshire Dales website.

A garden walk will be staged at Stillingfleet Lodge Gardens, Stewart Lane, Stillingfleet, near York to show visitors the highlights of the garden in August. This will be an informal tour with the garden owner, who will provide visitors with tips on the best plants to grow to ensure beautiful borders throughout the year.

For more details, visit the Stillingfleet Lodge Gardens website.

15 August

Explore the darker side of Ripon’s history from the macabre to the mysterious on a ghost walk.

Visitors will discover ancient burial sites, curious bone finds and characters who lived and died hundreds of years ago, but who some say still linger.

The price is £6 for adults and £4 for under 16s and the walk starts at 7.15pm. Book the Ripon Ghost Walk tickets in advance to secure a place via visit the Ripon Museums website or via the ticket office at the Workhouse Museum.

24 August

The Ripon Cathedral Summer Beer Festival takes place between 11.30am and 7pm.

With live music, a range of guest ales, refreshing ciders and street food in the cathedral grounds, the festival is a popular highlight of the cathedral’s calendar.

There will also be children’s activities to keep youngsters entertained. Tickets cost £8 and under-18s get free admission.

For more details, visit the Ripon Cathedral website.

26 August

The Harrogate Model Railway Group is hosting its annual model railway exhibition in the Constance Green Hall at St Aidan’s School in Oatlands Drive in Harrogate between 10am and 4pm.

There will be layouts, demonstrations, trade stalls and refreshments.

Entry is £7 per adult, £2 per child or £15 for a family ticket and free parking is available.

For more details, visit the Harrogate Model Railway Group website.