Pixie-Themed Community Day in Pickering

Pickering celebrates its strong community spirit with a special day today.

Today is dedicated to the successful efforts of residents and volunteers to improve the North Yorkshire market town’s fortunes by turning it into a more vibrant place to live, work and visit.

The Community Day will also see the launch of a new pixie-themed digital trail bringing to life the enduring heritage of the town– is being organised by the social enterprise Pickering Town Community Interest Company.

The not-for-profit group, which formed in the wake of Covid in 2022, is made up of local residents and an army of volunteers who have been galvanised with a sense of ‘wanting to get things done’, working closely with Pickering Town Council, North Yorkshire Council and the North York Moors National Park.

This has resulted in a number of successful projects including the installation of a new cycling pump-track, re-instatement of the traditional town signage, the creation of groups for sociable walking and sewing, as well as providing volunteer support for events such as the Pickering Rocks music festival.

The Community Day will coincide with the first anniversary of another success story, the This Little Piggie artisan market which will open for its second season in March. Many of Pickering’s attractions and businesses will be joining in the celebrations including entertainment at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, the Castle, and the Beck Isle Museum as well as blacksmith demonstrations on Smiddy Hill.

Professional performance troupe Valerian Entertainment, dressed as mythical sprites, will lead the celebration through the surrounding streets while people hunt for a string of tiny pixie houses that have been created by local artists, Emma Hodgson from The Guilded Moon Collective, Sally Toser from Rock Studios, wood craftsman Geoff Bogg and Mike Bennett from Must Forge. 

As well as shop windows adopting the pixie theme, the Black Swan will be holding art workshops dedicated to the mythical characters; the Pickering Book Tree will have actress Elizabeth Boag reading to groups; while mischievous elves at the St Peter and St Paul’s Church will be helping those taking part in the bell ringing workshops.

It’s testament to the town’s community spirit that weekly art workshops are being held to create the artwork for the March event, plus the secretive group of Pickering Yarn bombers are knitting creations to decorate the streets and shop windows, while Birdgate Chocolatiers are planning a giant pixie-themed chocolate egg that will be raffled for charity.

Mike Potter, Chairman of the Pickering Town Community Interest Company comments:

“It is fantastic to see how many people and businesses are getting involved with the Community Day. It underlines how powerful a force volunteering can be, when a group comes together with a united passion for making things better in their neighbourhood.

“In fact volunteering in Pickering has now become just a natural part of the social fabric of the town, providing opportunities for residents to meet up and get to know one another while sharing a common cause. 

“While Pickering can be proud of what it has achieved so far, we’re also brimming with more plans that will keep the momentum going and help make the town even more resilient.”

More details on the Community Day are on Visit Pickering’s website: www.visitpickering.co.uk

Pickering Town Community Interest Company's Operations Manager is Carrie Brackstone.

She takes us around the digital trail:

 Carrie also explained how the day came about:

There will be a theatre group performing throughout too: