Leavening is made up of a number of community groups who organise a series of activities across the year.  These include the following:

Leavening Events Committee 
The events team is a sub-group of Leavening Parish Council which organises activities with the aim of bringing Leavening Village Community together. Events rely on the generous support and contributions of volunteers and are appreciated by the wider village and guests throughout the year. Some of the activities raise money to cover costs and enable us to continue the annual program for the benefit of the village. 
The team successfully and safely delivered a number of well-supported events this year:

​Leavening Village Fete
Usually in early July this is a traditional fete with games, refreshments, local craft stalls and produce, fun races for children of all ages, face painting and of course entertainment. Previous fetes have featured local bands, wildlife displays and morris dancers to entertain crowds. We use a number of marquees to provide cover from sun or rain (available for hire) which are put up by volunteers the night before the fete and at the same time there is a BYO village barbecue on the site. Look out for the themed Scarecrow Trail as well in the run up to the fete in summer.

Bonfire night display
Well known across the local area, the Leavening village is proud of our outstanding bonfire and firework display in November with winter refreshments

Elders lunch
Open to our older residents, this annual event is generously hosted by The Jolly Farmers, our wonderful village pub and usually features an excellent Christmas song performance from lour talented local schoolchildren

Dates of 2026 events are still to be decided, but look out for details on noticeboards, Facebook and online

How can I get involved?

• Let us know your ideas and suggestions for events we may be able to put on for the village
• Your support at events is crucial, but if you want to get involved in organising a specific event or join the team to help plan the annual calendar of events, contact Ian Hazel-Gant on 07977 138889

And finally we are ever grateful for the support of the villagers and local businesses who contribute to our community with time, equipment, electricity, food, skills, storage, transport, and the enthusiasm which is needed to deliver all of this successfully.
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Picnic Site Committee - On a reclaimed site at the top of Leavening Brow is the Village picnic area which has wonderful views over the Vale of York.  It is also where our Community Beacon is sited.  The site is managed by a number of volunteers who organise tree planting and litter picking.

Woolly Wednesday group is run as an amenity for all the village, ran by Bertie and Christine who meet on Wednesdays from 1:30pm to 4pm throughout the year (except August and December). Bertie is a member of the York Guild of Spinners Weavers and Dyers and decided to start a group for anyone who either did, or wanted to learn to do anything woolly or fibre related. They cover spinning, weaving, crochet, knitting and needle felting, to name but a few. The group is ran as a drop in session so if you're curious, just come along for a cuppa with chat and cake.

Leavening Embroidery Group meets every Monday afternoon at 1:30pm for 2 hours in the schoolroom. Everyone brings their own project and it has become more of a social event. Lots of tea and cake! The embroidery group has been in existence since 2007 and was formed originally to make an embroidery to hang in the church. They went on to produce the initials on the wall of the schoolroom and made embroideries to commemorate the work of women in the Great War who took on roles in factories, farms, the railways. These were exhibited at the Royal Armouries in Leeds. 

The Yorkshire Countrywomen's Association meets on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:30pm in the schoolroom. They warmly welcome you to join. They have a mixture of talks and events throughout the year and run the village show. The talks start at 7.30pm and are held in the Methodist Schoolroom on Main Street.  There is a small annual subscription to join, or you can attend a talk as a visitor for £3.

The Meet and Greet coffee morning takes place on the last Wednesday of each month from 10am to 12pm in the schoolroom. 

The Upholstery Group involves modern and traditional upholstery, seat weaving using cane, rush and seagrass. This class runs every Thursday all day from 9.30am until 4.00pm, the cost per day is £20.

The village Book Club meets on the last Wednesday of each month.

Please contact us for further information about these groups at [email protected]



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