Sponsored by
Grace is Littlebeck's new Rose Queen
CROWDS flocked to Littlebeck to watch the picturesque village's annual crowning of the Rose Queen ceremony.
Around 400 visitors gathered on Tuesday afternoon to watch young Grace Sullivan float down the beck to be crowned this year's Rose Queen, in an event which dates back half a century,
Set within the idyllic surroundings of Littlebeck valley, the ceremony has been attracting growing numbers of visitors since it began in 1957.
Families enjoyed the sunshine and a garden fete with a host of stalls and refreshments before watching last year's Rose Queen Danielle Thompson hand over her crown to 14-year-old Grace.
Monica Ventress has been involved in the event for 32 years and sees it as a great opportunity to bring the wider community together.
She said: "Littlebeck is only a very small place. A lot of our young people don't come back to live here, but they do come back for the day.
"It started as a way to raise for the village hall with just a traditional garden party. The original hall was a World War One hut and the money was raised to help build a new one, which they built by hand in their spare time and the money raised today still goes to keeping it going."
Resident Julia Weeks and her husband John open up their garden at the Old Mill each year as the home of the ceremony.
Mrs Weeks said: "It is very much a Littlebeck community project, all the community members contribute.
"There's lots going on and the kids really love the traditional games that we have on."
The event is a great opportunity to unite village members past and present with the younger children and grandchildren of the village participating in a water-side play.
This year's play was a Winnie the Pooh story narrated by the Rose Queen Grace's Auntie, Mieke Davison.
Grace, from Scarborough, has also been involved since she was four years old, but now takes the staring role as the Rose Queen.
She said: "I'm really excited about it. My cousins have all been Rose Queen when my Aunty used to live here, and we came up quite a lot.
The teenager was joined on her floating procession by attendants Ebony Hodgson (8), from Staithes, and Gian Luca Mastrolonardo (5), from Sleights.
Proceeds from the Rose Queen event are still being totted-up.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Whitby
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 1 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
