The free Stray display is Saturday 7 November, fireworks 7pm, then the UK Foo Fighters. Ripon is Friday 6 November, advance tickets only, £10 an adult.
Bonfire night 2026 falls on Thursday 5 November. In this district the two big displays sit on the days after it: Ripon on Friday 6 November and the free Harrogate Stray display on Saturday 7 November.
Updated 29 September: the Stray display now has its date. Harrogate Round Table has set it for Saturday 7 November, with fireworks at 7pm and the UK Foo Fighters playing straight afterwards.
What is confirmed, and what is not
| Display | 2026 date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Ripon City Bonfire, Ripon Racecourse | Fri 6 November | Confirmed, advance tickets on sale |
| Harrogate Stray Charity Bonfire and Fireworks | Sat 7 November | Announced 28 September, free, donations welcome |
| Knaresborough firework finale, over the viaduct | Sun 6 December, 4.30pm | Confirmed, free, part of the Christmas Market |
Ripon City Bonfire: Friday 6 November
The Rotary Club of Ripon Rowels has set its display for Friday 6 November 2026 at Ripon Racecourse, and this year it is advance tickets only. The club says e-tickets have been introduced for the first time, so there is no paying on the gate (riponcitybonfire.org, tickets page).
The running order the organisers publish:
- 5.30pm gates open
- 7pm the bonfire is lit
- 7.30pm the firework display
Prices are £10 an adult and £5 a child, with a child counted as under 16. Children under three go free, and under-14s must be with an adult. Tickets are sold through Ticketebo, linked from the club’s own tickets page.
Getting there and parking
Parking is on the grass at the racecourse, and the organisers ask people to allow time because it gets busy. The important detail, easy to miss: entry is via the racecourse turnstiles, not the main gate. If you are walking in from Ripon, the club marks the footpath from the city and says it is suitable for pushchairs (how to find us).
Bag searches are in operation. Do not take your own fireworks, sparklers or alcohol, and the club asks people not to buy from sellers standing outside the ground.
Harrogate Stray bonfire: Saturday 7 November
The Harrogate Stray Charity Bonfire and Fireworks is the district’s biggest free night of the year, run by Harrogate Round Table on the Stray alongside Oatlands Drive, close to St Aidan’s School. The 2026 date is Saturday 7 November, announced on 28 September by the event’s headline sponsor, Your Harrogate, with the Round Table’s organisers quoted on the plans (Your Harrogate, 28 September 2026).
The published running order:
- 5pm gates open, with entertainment through the evening, including DJ Mark Green and a four-piece band of local musicians
- 6.30pm the bonfire is lit
- 7pm the fireworks, a quarter of an hour earlier than last year’s 7.15pm
- Straight after the fireworks, the UK Foo Fighters play a homecoming set. The tribute band formed in Harrogate in 2007
What else the organisers have said:
- Entry is free. There is no admission charge; the Round Table asks people to give what they can. This year’s money goes to Mind and Samaritans. Last year’s event raised a record £20,000.
- Food and drink: Harrogate and Nidderdale District Scouts serve hot food and soft drinks, and there is a bar and other caterers on the Stray.
- Accessibility: Harrogate Town Council has part-funded an accessibility unit with a full changing facility and accessible toilets.
One trap remains. The Round Table’s own event page had still not been updated when we checked on 29 September, and reads “Saturday 8th November 2025” (harrogateroundtable.co.uk). Some listings are still repeating that date as this year’s. There is no Saturday 8 November in 2026: it is a Sunday. The Saturday is the 7th.
The Round Table’s standing advice is that there is no parking near the site, so walk in if you can. No road closure notice for the evening had been published as at 29 September.
Knaresborough: fireworks over the viaduct, 6 December
The other display worth putting in the diary is not on bonfire night at all. Knaresborough Christmas Market closes at 4.30pm on Sunday 6 December 2026 with a firework finale fired against the viaduct and the Nidd gorge. It is free, it lasts about ten minutes, and the organisers say it is best seen from the Castle grounds, the Castle Top or anywhere along the riverside (knaresboroughchristmasmarket.co.uk).
The market runs a free park and ride at GSPK on Manse Lane, HG5 8LF, across the weekend. Dog owners are asked to think twice about the Sunday: the organisers say a busy town plus ten minutes of fireworks is a lot for a nervous animal.
What it means for you
- Two displays on consecutive nights: Ripon on Friday 6 November, the Stray on Saturday 7 November.
- Ripon is advance tickets only. Adult £10, child £5, under-3s free, and you cannot pay at the gate.
- The Stray is free, and the organisers ask you to give what you can. Walk rather than drive.
- Ignore anything quoting “Saturday 8 November”. That is the 2025 date.
- Knaresborough on Sunday 6 December is free and needs no ticket, and the park and ride is free too.
- Neither North Yorkshire Council nor the organisers had published a road closure order for any of these as at 29 September.
Live closures and rail work are on our Harrogate roadworks and travel page, the district’s car parks and charges are in our guide to parking in Harrogate, and there is more in things to do in Harrogate.
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