Ripon Arts Hub was filled with an eager crowd on Thursday 30th March.
Our Festival Guides for the 2023 festival arrived “hot off the press” and were shared with happy guests as they enjoyed canapés generously provided by Valentino’s Ristorante.
Once in the auditorium, Festival Team members presented some of their festival highlights, talked about new venues, projects and activities and thanked funders and sponsors.
With more than 50 events planned over the four days and five evenings, there was a lot to talk about!
And the theatrical treat of the evening was still to come… Jeffrey Holland delighted the audience as Stan Laurel in his perfectly-pitched one-man show.
Created by Jeffrey himself and with a script by Gail Loew “..and this is My Friend, Mr Laurel” was set at the bedside of an ailing Oliver Hardy and was in turns funny and very moving.
After a brief interval Jeffrey then spent another 40 minutes in a Q&A session with a rapt audience, sharing his passion for all things Laurel and Hardy and recounting memories of his years on TV and stage.
He also declared how delighted he was with Ripon which he had never before visited.
We can’t wait to welcome him back again – thanks Jeffrey!
Festival Guides will now be distributed throughout Ripon and across the region.
All festival 2023 events are now on the website with tickets on sale from Monday 3 April.
The Guide can also be viewed or downloaded for browsing.
