Carnivals to Christmas lights: Yorkshire stories to make you smile

Grace WoodYorkshire
News imageAnn Foster/Grace Hunt Two images: On the left side, a lively outdoor fair with colourful amusement rides, including a large inflatable slide and a spinning ride. On the right, a detailed winter-themed model of a large brick house with snow-covered roof and yard, inspired by a classic suburban home.Ann Foster/Grace Hunt
This week a carnival was saved and an unusual cake was made

Across Yorkshire there are people doing amazing things every day of the week and we want to highlight them.

This week a 10-year-old girl from Richmond turned on the town's Christmas lights after undergoing kidney surgery, a baker from Beverley recreated the Home Alone house as a cake and a carnival was saved after a successful appeal for volunteers.

Take a look below and enjoy some positive news stories from across BBC Yorkshire.

Tillie, 10, turns on Christmas lights

10-year-old turns on Richmond's Christmas lights

A 10-year-old girl from North Yorkshire was invited to switch on Richmond's Christmas lights as the event's guest of honour this week.

Tillie was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition shortly before her seventh birthday and received a life-changing kidney transplant from her dad two years ago.

Her mum Marie said it was a special moment. She said: "We're a bit shocked that we got the opportunity."

'This is my house. I have to defend it'

News imageBBC/Gill Sennett The cake in the window it shows the two-storey red brick Home Alone house with icing snow on the roof and front lawns on the driveway is a confectionary car and van in the roadBBC/Gill Sennett
The Home Alone house is in the window of Grace Eva Cakes in Beverley

Baker Grace Hunt has recreated the house from her favourite film, Home Alone, in the form of a cake.

Grace spent weeks making and decorating the model mansion as a Christmas window display for her shop in Beverley, East Yorkshire.

She said: "Many hours went into it, lots of tears as well."

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'I laughed at how crazy it was'

News imageHarriet Trewhitt A side-by-side comparison showing Harriet during treatment and after. On the left, Harriet is lying in a hospital bed with medical monitoring wires attached to her chest and a heavily bandaged arm resting on the bed. On the right, Harriet is standing indoors, taking a mirror selfie with a smartphone, wearing a strapless white dress with blue floral patterns.Harriet Trewhitt
Harriet had emergency surgery in May 2025 but is now recovering well and cancer free

A woman whose arm tattoo ended up on her tongue as part of reconstructive surgery during cancer treatment said the story made a "good dating anecdote".

Harriet Trewhitt, 21, was diagnosed earlier this year after developing a painful ulcer on her tongue.

At first, the drama student thought the lesion was just a result of biting her tongue during an epileptic seizure, but doctors decided to biopsy the area and found stage two squamous cell carcinoma.

Now Harriet is back home and hopes to begin a master's degree at Derby University in drama therapy in 2026.

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Carnival saved from crisis

News imageAnn Foster A lively outdoor carnival scene on a sunny day, featuring colourful amusement rides such as hot air balloon-themed attractions, inflatable slides, and a Ferris wheel. The area is crowded with people enjoying the event, surrounded by vibrant stalls and signage.Ann Foster
The carnival is held annually on the second Saturday of July

Organisers of a community carnival said they were "delighted" after a successful appeal for volunteers saved the event from being cancelled.

The future of Baildon Carnival was said to be at "crisis point" due to a shortage of people to help manage the growing event.

Ann Foster, deputy chair of the Baildon Carnival committee, said: "We are very delighted the drive to get more volunteers has been successful and we hope that it continues."

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