Illuminate Gainsborough 2021

Join in Illuminate Gainsborough 2021, the town’s final spectacular Mayflower 400 event this November.

Gainsborough’s 400th anniversary commemorations will come to a close this November marking the town’s connections to Pilgrims’ heritage.

Thank you to everyone who came to Illuminate 2021 on Saturday 13 November. We had a fantastic turnout and would like to say thank you to everyone who made the event possible.

Take a look at our gallery here – Illuminate 2021.

Read our latest story here.

Illuminate Gainsborough online

Building on the success of last year’s online event, Illuminate Gainsborough online will take place on Thursday 25 November marking the 400th anniversary of the first Thanksgiving.

To join in, share photos of your lanterns and candles on social media at home using #OneSmallCandle. What will you give thanks for?

How to take part
  • Make your own candle or lantern at home using our toolkit – Make Your Own Candle Toolkit.
  • Put our candle in your window and light it on Thursday 25 November and share a photo of it online using the hashtag #OneSmallCandle on social media.
Complete our survey to be entered in to a free prize draw!

What did you think to Illuminate this year? Complete our online survey and you will be entered in to a free prize draw to win £100 cash!

To complete the survey click here.

The survey will be open from 6pm on Saturday 13 November and will close at midnight on Friday 26 November. Entries after this time will not be entered in to the prize draw. To read our terms and conditions click here.


The Mayflower’s historic voyage began in Plymouth in 1620. Many leading Separatists on the ship came from the Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire region, who later became known as the Pilgrims.

Illuminate Gainsborough is part of the £100,000 Arts Council England-funded Mayflower 400 cultural programme.

For more information on the Mayflower story and Illuminate visit our Pilgrim Roots page. For regular updates follow Discover Gainsborough on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.