Denise Jeffery: Culture and creativity is for everyone to enjoy

Denise Jeffery writes: It was a huge success, returning to fill the city centre streets even bigger and better than ever before.

Thousands of visitors enjoyed the local food, entertaining and inspiring cooking displays, and the warm and vibrant atmosphere. It was delightful to see all the local businesses full of customers and all the traders so busy and welcoming.

Many people have told me how much our events mean to them, and we recognise how important they are to bring people together to share experiences, whether it’s culture, sport, art, a celebration of food or in other ways.

Events like these really do matter and they also do so much to support our district’s economy. And for this reason, bringing festivals and events like these for you all to enjoy is really important to us.

As we look forward there is so much to enjoy, with the Liquorice Festival in Pontefract in July, the World of Good exhibition - the landmark exhibition at Wakefield Museum - featuring famous eco-warriors including Sir David Attenborough and Chris Packham - is running until July. We’ll also see the return of Word Fest in May encouraging reading with events and fun activities.

I’m also delighted to share that Wakefield’s summer festival is currently being planned, and while it’s too early to reveal the details yet we’re planning an exciting programme of cultural activities for individuals and families in our different communities across the district.

This year, people will also have an opportunity to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, marking Queen’s Elizabeth’s 70th year on the throne.

Looking ahead, we are making exciting plans alongside our partners for the district’s Year of Culture in 2024 which will celebrate everything that our towns, villages and city have to offer. It really will showcase what makes the district special to the world.

We want everyone to have the chance to benefit from culture and creativity through our events programme and to support our district to be a place that is welcoming and inclusive to all.

With that in mind, we are inviting residents to join us at special events across the district in April to ensure our residents and partners can be part of creating and informing what a Year of Culture could mean for our entire district:

Monday April 4 – South Elmsall Library – 6-8pm

Tuesday April 5 – Wakefield College - 6-8pm

Wednesday April 6 – Pontefract Town Hall - 6-8pm

Thursday April 7 – Ossett Town Hall - 6-8pm

All are welcome to the sessions, and you do not need prior knowledge of culture and creativity. We are inviting you to share what is important to you in terms of cultural activity including heritage, sport, food, community, the great outdoors as well as the arts. Culture is for everyone and can include the widest range of activities, projects and experiences; these events are a crucial step in building a collaborative programme for a Year of Culture 2024. If you are not able to attend the events and have any ideas you’d like to share, email me: [email protected]