Get Involved

Fun Guaranteed or Your Money Back!!

The Ripley Bonfire now attracts up to 12,000 people a year which requires a lot of planning and organising in advance and an immense amount of managing on the night. The Ripley Bonfire Association and its wide group of helpers are all volunteers who give up their time freely to ensure that we can continue to hold this amazing event in our village each year. Besides getting money for our main organisation, the Over 60s Club, we also raise money for a lot of local organisations and charities. Oh – AND we all have a lot of fun doing it! We are always on the lookout for new people to join us and assist with the running of the bonfire. Whether you can spare time throughout the year, just in the run up to the event or on the night, we would love to hear from you.

Detailed below are some of the key areas where you can help. If you would like to find out more information or volunteer, please email us via the Contact page from the Main Menu.

COLLECTORS

The funding of the Ripley Bonfire relies heavily on our dedicated Collection Team who get out amongst the crowd during the event and rattle their collection buckets. Despite all of their hard work, fancy dress and tired feet, by the end of the night we still have people saying that they did not see a collector all evening – it is after all easy to get lost in a crowd of 12,000 even when you are in fancy dress!!

So, if you are someone who likes getting out and about, to meet with people and persuade them to part with their cash, be it for one hour or the whole evening, our Collection Team would love to hear from you.

MARSHALS

12,000 people is a lot of people and our team of Marshals, in conjunction with Surrey Police, ensure that the crowd is properly controlled and not getting into any danger. From escorting the Torchlit Procession down from the Village Hall, to supervising the bonfire, to traffic control on the roads and across the green, our Marshals control the crowd and all the safety elements of the bonfire throughout the whole event.

If you have an eye for what’s right and what’s wrong, are happy to talk to people about behaving in a safe manner, have a voice that carries across a crowd, enjoy wearing bright yellow tabards, then our team of Marshals would like to hear from you.

BONFIRE BUILDERS

Without the bonfire the Ripley Bonfire and Firework Night would be somewhat lacking! In 2019, our last bonfire event, the bonfire consisted of approximately 1,200 pallets, several truck loads of timber, enough shrubbery to camouflage a small army and of course a Guy – and somebody had to put all of that into a nice, neat pile that would burn! When I say a neat pile, it measured approximately 36,750 cubic feet!

Now, some of the Ripley Bonfire boys may not be exactly what you would call a work of art, and their dress sense may leave a little to be desired …

But man, can they build a good bonfire … 

The bonfire is built on three Sunday mornings during October, between 9.00 and 12.00 am. Come rain or shine, the Ripley Bonfire boys will be there working hard, stacking pallets, chopping wood and having a good time doing it.

If you would like to help build the bonfire please just come along to the green and be sure to wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Tea and biscuits are supplied half way through the morning and a pint or so is generally had at the Cricket Club afterwards.

If you would like to know more about how the bonfire is built please visit the ‘The Bonfire Build’ page from the Main Menu.