Guy Fawkes Night: BYO's Biggest Ever Event
250 participants. Fireworks lighting up the Ward End sky. A bonfire, sparklers, music, hot chocolate and snacks — and a community that showed up in a way that genuinely took us by surprise.
This was the fifth of November done properly. Families arrived as the light faded and stayed long into the evening, wrapped up warm, children darting between sparklers, parents finding seats and settling in. The energy throughout the night was something you had to be there to feel.
Events like this one matter for reasons that go beyond the spectacle. They give people a reason to leave the house, to stand next to a neighbour they've never spoken to, to let their children run around somewhere safe and free. In a community where that doesn't always happen naturally, BYO creates the conditions for it.
A huge thank you to every volunteer who gave their evening to make it run — and to everyone who came and brought their family. This milestone belongs to the community as much as it does to us.
Next year will be bigger.
