Our Year is a year-long programme of spectacles, unique festivals, major events and community-led activities that will celebrate all that the Wakefield district has to offer from art, heritage, sport and music to food and drink.
And in April, there’s something for everyone, whether it’s meeting some of your movie heroes at Trinity Walk’s Star Walk, cheering on the runners at this year’s coal race or enjoying all that’s on offer at the Peddlers Market at Tileyard North.
Some events need booking – visit www.experiencewakefield.co.uk to find out more.
1. WORLD COAL CARRYING CHAMPIONSHIPS
April 1: How many cities in Yorkshire can claim they host an annual world championship? Not many. However, Wakefield does. More specifically, the village of Gawthorpe plays host to the World Coal Carrying Championships on Easter Monday every year, in which runners carry coal sacks over a distance of 1.1km. Photo: Wakefield Council
2. STAR WALK
Taking place on April 13-14. Legends of the big screen are set to assemble at Trinity Walk for Wakefield’s biggest cosplay experience – Star Walk! Enjoy two free days of movie stars, cars and props, plus free face painting and giveaways with all cash and contactless card donation for Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice of West Yorkshire. Photo: Wakefield Council
3. BEYOND THE BASSLINE
From April 6 – August 25. The upcoming exhibition Beyond the Bassline shines a spotlight on different voices and perspectives to celebrate Black British music as a form of entertainment and vehicle for community, as well as a source of liberation, protest and education. Stepping into carnivals, clubs and record shops across the country, Beyond the Bassline draws on different places that have cultivated creative expression and inspired a number of Black British music genres. Taking place at Wakefield Library April 6 – June,15 and Pontefract Library June 24 - August 25. Photo: Wakefield Council
4. WALLS AND WILDLIFE WALKS
April 2 and 8. Join Ali Bullivent on walks around Waterton’s Wall. Led by historian and author Barbara Phipps, who has written several well-respected books about our local history, where you can learn all about the fascinating history of ‘Waterton’s Wall’. Photo: Wakefield Council