A rather belated update as we gear up for the 2020 York Rally in June!
Cwrw Ial beer and vegan pizza – both booked!
We’re delighted to announce the return of community brewing company Cwrw Ial to the York Rally! Pictured above at the 2016 Rally, they’ll be bringing a selection of their fine beers.
We’re also very happy that Mio Pizza, whose vegan menu went down so well at the last Rally that he sold out, will be back with increased stocks ready for a very busy weekend in 2020!
Campsite – earlybird prices are still available!
For the full Rally experience it’s best to stay on site! And as ever, we’ve made sure that the earlier you book your campsite pitch, the cheaper the prices. The reduced rate earlybird fees are still available until the 30th April 2020.
This year we welcome a long-standing friend of the Rally, Peter Poppy, to the campsite team. He’ll be handling bookings by post, so please do note the new address if you’re sending us your booking form , a copy of which you can download from our website.
For all the campsite details, and for both online and postal bookings, please just click the button:
Can you help with badge design?
Without a graphic designer on the York Rally volunteer team, we always struggle with designs for the York Rally badges. And this year, we’re also running low on badges for our supporters club, the Friends of York Rally – so we need a new (undated) design for that as well as one for the 2020 Rally.
We’d love to see your creative ideas! If you have even concept sketches (finished vector artwork is even better) please do email publicity@yorkrally.org and we’ll take it from there! Or just post them at the York Rally Facebook page if you prefer…
We note, by the way, that 2020 marks 75 years since the first York Rally in 1945 (see some history here). That may be something that could be commemorated in the badge design, too…
Bands and more booked!
To ensure that the Rally runs smoothly our team of hard-working volunteers books all sorts of things well in advance – marquees, toilets, showers, tables, fire extinguishers, catering… and also on the list is the artists who provide our live music!
We’re very happy that we have again booked American Routes, featuring Irene and Brian Hume (formerly of hit band Prelude) for the Saturday evening performance, and The Sonics will again be delivering their lively rock and roll set on Saturday morning!
Cleaning – changes afoot
An essential if less glamorous thing we must arrange before the Rally is cleaning of toilets and showers. Since we revived the Rally we have been incredibly fortunate that Rally-goers Pippa and John have taken on this role with incredible dedication, keeping the facilities spotless throughout the weekend and handing them back to the Racecourse in a better state than we found them! We have received numerous positive comments over the years, both from Rally-goers and the Racecourse.
For 2020, John and Pippa are stepping back from cleaning – we wish them many very well-deserved Rallies without this duty, and pass on our sincere thanks.
That does mean we must make some alternative arrangements, and we feel we should recognise that it will be very hard to live up to the standards set by John & Pippa, who were on site full time.
We are currently looking at commercial cleaners who may come in a few times per day over the weekend, unless there’s someone among you who might want to take on the (paid) cleaning role? If that could be you, please email Charlie on trade@yorkrally.org to talk details!
And for everyone – please do bear with us if the new arrangements don’t quite rise to the level of previous years! We’ll certainly adjust for future Rallies once we see how any new cleaning arrangements work in 2020. And your assistance in ‘self-cleaning’ the facilities after use will be much appreciated in any case!
Help us recruit!
Do you know fellow cyclists who don’t yet join you in attending the York Rally? It would be great if all of our attendees, friends and supporters could make it a new year’s resolution to mention the Rally to at least one cycling friend in the coming months and urge them to come along! We’re happy with numbers so far, but the Rally’s ongoing vitality depends on new visitors – who we hope will become regulars!
Could you help distribute the Rally’s 2020 leaflet (per the picture at the top of this email?) At other events, at campsites or at cafes to fellow cyclists? If you would like some paper copies (A5) please just email with your address to publicity@yorkrally.org
Also on the recruitment front, we always need more willing volunteers to help on the organising committee – the only requirement is really that you can attend a good proportion of our meetings, which are around 8 times a year, on Saturnday mornings in York. In particular there’s a role for a volunteer fundraiser – if you fancy taking that on, we’ll do our very best to support you and make it a rewarding role! Please just contact Paul Reid on organiser@yorkrally.org or 07467 321443 if you’re interested.
Finally, please do keep sharing and mentioning our posts on social media – follow our Facebook page here and if you’d like to print or share our leaflet, it’s available here.
And finally…
All are welcome – especially newcomers, and anyone interested in joining our organising committee – at our next York Rally planning meeting, which takes place at 10am on 28 March 2020, at the Church Hall of St Chad’s on the Knavesmire, Campleshon Road, York. Please just let us know if you would like a lift from the railway station.
We’re looking forward to seeing many of you at the Rally in June!
With best regards,
The all-volunteer York Rally Team