Over 4000 people participated in the 2021 Yorkshire Fossil Festival between 10 – 12 September. Nearly 1900 school and college students took part in the online Education Day on Friday 10 September, with over 1300 visitors then coming to the festival in-person over the weekend. With additional visitors attending online lectures, Facebook live events, storytelling sessions and the Fossil Film Festival at Stephen Joseph Theatre. Over 500 people also engaged with the Festival’s Twitter and Facebook pages during the festival.
Plans are already in place to make the 2022 Festival even bigger and involve more locations along the Yorkshire Coast. The Yorkshire Fossil Festival 2022 will be based at the Scarborough Spa, and take place from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 September. As with the 2021 event, the Friday will be an Education Day, with events and activities for primary, secondary, 6th Form and university students. The public Festival will take place across Saturday and Sunday, with activities planned for the Spa, Rotunda Museum, and other sites in Scarborough and along the Yorkshire Coast. There will also be a programme of online events, to enable people who are unable to come to the area to participate in the Festival.
Plans are in place to engage with local communities and hospitality businesses in spring/early summer, to help local businesses learn about the festival and increase the awareness and general business potential of geo-tourism in Yorkshire.
