York's big charity bonfire returns to Rawcliffe Country Park on Saturday 7 November. Tickets are not on sale yet. What it cost and what time it ran last year.

Bonfire night 2026 falls on Thursday 5 November, which in York means the big display moves to the Saturday. The date for the city’s main one is already known, even though nothing has gone on sale.

Rawcliffe Bar Country Park: Saturday 7 November 2026. That date comes from YorkMix, which hosts the event, in its report on the 2025 cheque handover: “Planning has already started for next years fireworks event, which takes place on Saturday, 7 November 2026.” Nobody has published a ticket page yet. Everything below was checked on 4 September against the organisers’ own material, and where a detail is last year’s, it says so.

What this event actually is

It is not a council event. The bonfire and firework display at Rawcliffe Bar Country Park is run by two volunteers, Bruce Reid and Terence Gregg, with North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service behind it, and every penny goes to The Fire Fighters Charity. City of York Council is listed as a supporter rather than the organiser.

The scale is the reason it matters. The 2025 display raised £41,936.51, handed over outside York Minster on 8 December. Back in 2021, the fire service called it the most successful fundraising event it had ever run in North Yorkshire, with over £60,000 raised, and the then chief fire officer admitted the ticket numbers had caused problems with car parking and getting people in. It was in its 14th year in 2025.

The shape of the night, from the fire service’s own listings

These are 2024 and 2023 details, not 2026 facts, but the running order has barely moved in four years.

Year Date How it ran
2025 Sat 8 Nov Hosted by YorkMix, raised £41,936.51 for The Fire Fighters Charity
2024 Sat 9 Nov Gates 4pm and 5pm, kids display 5.30pm, bonfire 7pm, main display 7.30pm
2023 Sat 4 Nov Same times, with the family mini display new that year
2021 Sat 6 Nov Gates 5pm, bonfire 7pm, fireworks 7.30pm

Tickets, for reference only. The 2024 and 2023 prices were the same: £10 adults, £5 children, under-5s free. In 2023 they were sold through TicketSource and over the counter at York, Acomb and Huntington fire stations, and at the Rawcliffe and Monks Cross park and ride sites. Expect live music, a funfair, a raffle, food stalls and a licensed bar.

Where to watch for the 2026 sale. The fire service’s events page currently reads “There are no events to display”, and its TicketSource shop is behind a security check that will not open to us. In 2023 the “tickets selling fast” notice went up on 23 October, about ten days before the event, so late October is the window.

The other one: Autumn Lights at Elvington

The commercial display at Elvington Airfield, YO41 4AU, about six miles east of the city centre, sells itself as the York firework display. It is a much bigger production than a village bonfire, and it is worth knowing about because it lands in late October rather than November.

Its 2025 night was Monday 27 October. The event page is still up, marked “This event has now passed”, with a “Get 2026 Ticket Alerts” button and no 2026 date. Last year’s prices were £16.99 adult and £8.99 for children aged 4 to 16 online, £20 and £10 on the gate, under-3s free, with free parking at the airfield. There were two displays, a children’s one at 7.40pm and the finale at 9.15pm.

One warning if you read that page. It contradicts itself on the gate time: the running order says 3.00pm, the FAQ says 15:00, and a headline block on the same page says 16.00. It also still thanks everyone who attended “the first ever Cheshire Autumn Lights night”, which is a different town’s event entirely. Treat the times as unconfirmed until 2026 goes on sale.

When the rest of the smaller displays surface

York’s village and club bonfires announce later than the big one. Neither the Poppleton Centre, whose events archive returns nothing at all, nor York Acorn on Thanet Road, had anything listed on 4 September. The most useful single source when they do is the fire service’s own round-up: in 2024 it published a list of every organised display it knew about on 10 October, covering everything from Sandburn Hall to Crayke, and said it would keep adding to it. Nothing equivalent has been posted for 2026.

We will update this page as dates and ticket links are confirmed. If you are driving out to Elvington or Rawcliffe, the roadworks and travel page is worth a look first, and parking in York covers the city centre car parks if you are coming in for the evening instead.