The sun is shining and there’s another reason to be cheerful: a new event at York Museum Gardens to help raise funds for this gem of a place. Celebrate midsummer with friends, food, drink and music in the beautiful surroundings of York’s botanical gardens this month. To mark midsummer, York Museums Trust is offering a unique opportunity to watch the sun set over the ruins of St Mary’s Abbey in the Gardens on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th June 2021.

Tickets will include a gourmet picnic hamper of homemade Yorkshire fayre, provided by Sketch from York Art Gallery’s cafe, and a welcome drink, with live music providing relaxed entertainment. Given the ticket price, we’d suggest booking a babysitter and enjoying a relaxing, adults-only experience!

A bar will serve drinks for the rest of the evening, with all funds raised helping to look after the wonderful York Museum Gardens. Tickets cost £25, including a welcome drink, homemade Yorkshire picnic hamper including pies, salads and dips and entertainment. Friday’s audience will have the opportunity to see New York Brass Band, while Saturday’s audience will hear a hand-picked selection of local artists performing a mix of pop, folk and country.

The garden gates will open at 6:30 pm and people are encouraged to bring their own picnic blankets and chairs to enjoy the surroundings from the portico outside the front of the Yorkshire Museum or the main lawn. The event finishes at 10 pm, and tickets are on sale now.