HELMSLEY’S Summer Celebration will run from Friday to Sunday, extending Yorkshire Day into an entire weekend with a White Rose county theme.

The three-day event promises something Yorkshire for all ages. Street theatre and music will keep shoppers entertained as they browse, while grown-ups can enjoy beer, cider and wine tasting from Yorkshire producers.

Visitors will be encouraged to take the Yorkshire Icon Trail as they walk around the independent shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants, spotting models of their favourite Yorkshiremen hiding in the town for the chance to win a prize.

Other activities include taking part in the Yorkshire tradition of welly-wanging at the International Centre for Birds of Prey, having a punt at a river race and rising to the occasion by entering one of six classes at the Grand Helmsley Cake Show. Among the evening events will be a family barbecue and Helmsley’s Got Talent at Helmsley Arts Centre.

Running alongside the Summer Celebration will be a wedding dress festival at All Saints Church, where dresses, photos and wedding memorabilia from across the decades will be displayed from August 2 to 10. Watch out for a canine bride-and-groom fancy dress competition too.

The Yorkshire weekend is being organised by Helmsley in Business (HiB), whose celebration committee is chaired by Em Whitfield Brooks, artistic director of Helmsley Arts Centre. “We’re proud to be living and working in God’s Own County and wanted to do something special for Yorkshire Day, so what better than making it a Yorkshire weekend,” she says.

“We’re hoping our Summer Celebration will offer something for everyone. Visitors can enjoy a spot of shopping, a bite to eat or a leisurely stroll around our beautiful town, and there’ll be entertainment round every corner, whether that’s street theatre, food tastings, competitions, a dog dressed up as a bride or a model of Dame Judi Dench.”

Visitors can park all day for £1.50 at Cleveland Way car park on August 1 and 2. To find out when activities are taking place, go to visithelmsley.co.uk or follow Helmsley on Facebook at facebook.com/visithelmsley or @visithelmsley on Twitter.