Please note that the Castle Howard Triathlon takes place this weekend, 21st and 22nd July.

 A road closure will be in place on Saturday, between 2pm and 5pm. Car access from the A64 is unchanged. Car access from Malton and Slingsby will be via Terrington and Ganthorpe, with diversion signs in place.

For the Yorkshire Arboretum Newsletter – Summer 2018, click here.

Regrettably the Pet Service, planned in collaboration with Slingsby School, has been cancelled.

It has become increasingly worrying about the current weather conditions and their possible impact on overheated pets and pet owners.

‘It’s probably the first time we have had to cancel an event because of the heat, but we don’t want to take any risks and are aware that there’s less shade on the Green since the pollarding of the trees.Thanks to everyone who was thinking of coming along, or firing up their ovens to bake some refreshments. We’ll try to rearrange the service for a slightly cooler time of year!’

Kate Giles

Originally created in York by writer and director Alexander Wright, this unique production has now performed to over 50,000 people in 8 locations across the UK and Ireland. As London’s longest running immersive theatre show, this is a rare opportunity to experience this cult piece of theatre as it visits Castle Howard for one week only.

It’s the roaring twenties – an era of bootleg liquor, red hot jazz and hedonistic pleasures. Jay Gatsby has invited you to one of his infamous parties and that’s not an invite you want to turn down.

Step into a heart-racing adaption of F Scott Fitzgerald’s seminal jazz-age novel which puts you in the heart of the action. Slip on your dancing shoes and watch the story unfold around you in this unique theatrical performance. The cocktails are flowing, the music is playing, the night is in full swing and there’s the chance of more than a little scandal.

Join the celebration of a lifetime with Jay Gatsby and immerse yourself in one of the greatest stories of the 20th Century.

***** British Theatre Guide
**** The Guardian
**** The Stage

“The conviction of the acting, the quality of the music and the frenetic explosions of flapper dancing distil the spirit of the book like liquor in a prohibition-era-teapot” The Guardian

“Extraordinary piece of immersive theatre” The Stage

“Exciting, free-wheeling and energetic…. sparkles with wit and charm” British Theatre Guide

Adapted and Directed by Alexander Wright. Created by Michael Lambourne, Hannah Davies, Amie Burns Walker, Holly Beasley-Garrigan, Thomas Maller, Oliver Tilney and Phil Grainger

 

The Great Gatsby will visit Castle Howard from Wednesday 11th July – Sunday 15th July, 7.30pm each day

To book tickets, or for more information, click here

 

The annual Slingsby Community Primary School’s Duck Race, now in its 27th year, will be held on Saturday 14th July from 11am to 3pm in the Sports Field located adjacent to the village church. The usual family fun such as an inflatable slide, face painting, bouncy castle, hook-a-duck, tombola and raffle with refreshments including a BBQ is available throughout the day. Entry is free.

 

It is a wonderful day out for families of all ages and is organised by the Friends of Slingsby School (FOSS) to raise money to benefit the children of the school. Ducks can be bought on the day, or prior to the event at various locations including Hovingham Market on Saturday 7th July, or direct from the school. Ducks will be released into Slingsby beck at 2pm and prizes will be awarded to the first three ducks to cross the line and there will be a special prize for the duck that comes last!

 

Come along and join us on a fun packed day and help raise funds for our local school.

Thursday 28 June to Sunday 1 July 2018

The theme of Castle Howard’s upcoming flower festival (28 June to 1 July 2018) is set to be extended into fabrics this summer, as staff and guides at the house will don their finest floral prints to celebrate the beautiful displays created by award-winning designer, Fiona Pickles of Firenza Flowers.

“This year’s Flower Festival celebrates flowers and foliage in all of their natural forms to show the beauty of our natural world,” explains head of marketing, Abbigail Ollive. “We’re hoping that staff and visitors alike will share in the joy that this brings, so we’ve encouraged everyone to dig out their best floral print dresses, shirts and ties to reflect this – and staff are already rising to the challenge!”

There was a minor bump in the road to this year’s festival last week with the arrival of Storm Hector across the UK, which has damaged some UK-grown flower crops – but Fiona remains undaunted by the challenge that this brings to her displays. “I received a phone call to say that one of the crops that had been grown specially had been completely wiped out in the storm, which is a huge shame, but we’ve got a fantastic network of artisan growers across the country who will help plug any gaps,” explains Fiona. “If we’d been planning very formal flower arrangements, this might have been a much larger problem, but this year’s Festival has a far more organic feel celebrating the best of British flowers, so adapting designs to what is available during the week of the festival – which can change given a few days’ rain, sun or wind – is really at the heart of what we do.”

All of the public rooms in the house are set to be adorned with native British flowers and foliage, with a significant proportion of the foliage coming from the Castle Howard Estate itself – and many of the flowers being collected from small artisan nurseries by the volunteers from every corner of the country who will be helping Fiona to dress the house. This approach is very different to many other flower festivals, which use huge quantities of imported, ‘factory-farmed’ blooms to create impact.

Alongside the installations in the House, the festival will include a series of talks, demonstrations and workshops from local professional growers and arrangers, with a focus on English grown flowers and tips for visitors to grow their own cutting garden. Caroline Beck at Verde Flowers will highlight the importance of buying British as part of her ‘Grown Not Flown’ talk, alongside Jonathon Moseley’s talk as UK Ambassador for British Flowers. Katie Kearns from Flower Show Presents will be hosting informative and fun headdress and arrangement workshops and visitors can see Fiona Pickles herself delivering daily demonstrations.

The Flower Festival: An English Country Garden will take place from Thursday 28th June to Sunday 1st July and is included within standard admission.

For more details, please visit www.castlehoward.co.uk

Talks and demonstrations will be delivered from the following (we expect this to have increased by the Festival):

– Hannah Price at Wildflower Florist

– Susan Dobson at Yorkshire Dales Flower Company

– Suzie Rush at Picked at Dawn

– Caroline Beck at Verde Flowers

– Jonathan Moseley Floral Designer, UK Ambassador for British Flowers

– Claire Clark from Pear Tree House Flowers and coordinator of Yorkshire and the North East for Flowers from the Farm

– Gill Hodgson at Fieldhouse Flowers and founder of Flowers from the Farm

– Katie Kearns at Flower Show Presents

– Fiona Pickles from Firenza Flowers

– Alastair Gunn, Head of Landscapes and Gardens at Castle Howard

 

Admission prices are: House & Gardens Adult: £18.95 Concession £17.50 Child (4-16) £9.95 Family (2+3) £47.85 Family (1+3) £28.90 Under 4 Free

Gardens only Adult: £11.95 Concession £11.00 Child (4-16) £7.95 Family (2+3) £31.85 Family (1+3) £19.90 Under 4 Free