What To Do This Weekend
Make the most of the long weekend with our guide to what to do
What’s New
In Gateshead
Gateshead’s award-winning luxury bakery Savour Bakery Café & Patisserie have this week launched Omnivour – a new go-to for all-day breakfast and brunch on Coatsworth Road. We’re excited by the launch menu which features shakshuka with aubergine, chilli, hummus and toast alongside classic brunch favourites.
In Sunderland
A new addition to Sunderland’s High Street West this week is Miso House, by the same team as Korean Spoon, serving authentic Japanese comfort food. Think sushi, sashimi and sake, which you can eat in or take away.
In York
Family-friendly café Bar Hashery has opened its biggest space yet on Layerthorpe. Known and loved for their outposts on Bootham, Micklegate and Parliament Street (and their coffee kiosk at York Railway Station), this new venue is serving pastries and breads made fresh on site as well as hot drinks and sweet treats.
In Leeds
A collaboration between Kirkstall Brewery and Little Bao Boy, the former North Taproom on Sovereign Street has been refurbished and rebranded as The City Taproom with 13 taps and a range of rotating casks to choose from. Meanwhile, Headingley now has its own froyo bar. Kefiyo has opened on Ash Road promising clean ingredients and vibrant flavours, plus açaí bowls, smoothies and coffee.
Read All About It
Hexham Book Festival is celebrating its 20th anniversary until 3rd May
The festival is hosting more than 50 events, from workshops, discussions and political commentators to chats with your favourite novelists. On 3rd May don’t miss Lee Child in discussion about his his 30th Jack Reacher thriller, the sixth in the acclaimed collaboration between Lee and his brother Andrew.
Child’s Play
Keep the kids busy this Bank Holiday weekend with oodles of family fun
Planet Circus OMG are back in Spennymoor putting on shows across the weekend and promising daredevil stunts in a giant big top on Coulson Street. This two-hour show will see acrobats, hilarious clowns and stunt riders entertain the whole family.
Dino: Live is heading to Thornton Hall Country Park near Skipton for three days of prehistoric fun from Saturday 2nd to Monday 4th May. There’ll be live shows, up-close encounters with the dinosaurs and a foam finale the kids are sure to love.
The Wallaby Experience returns to Lotherton on Saturday 2nd May where you and your children have the chance to meet and feed the troupe of wallabies, the newest additions to Wildlife World, in an up-close, keeper-led experience.
Cheers to This
It’s a Bank Holiday weekend, of course there are beer festivals and food battles…
The quest to find the best slice begins this Friday (1st) and continues the following day when Slice Wars returns to Wylam Brewery, this year expanding out onto the Town Moor. As always, it’s family friendly, dog friendly and there’ll be some top-quality pizza. There could be a few Jedis knocking around too (for May the 4th… be with you).
Back at Wetherby’s Grange Park on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd May, Wetherby Beer Festival will host more than 70 different beers and ciders, food, live music and family entertainment for a fun-filled Bank Holiday weekend.
On Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd May, a two-day celebration of beer is taking place at Rigg & Furrow in Northumberland with a line-up of the UK’s finest brewers and fermentationists heading to the farm. But don’t worry if you’re not into pints – there’ll also be wine, cocktails, alcohol-free options and entertainment at From The Land.
Show Time
Fashionistas rejoice, the long-awaited sequel to The Devil Wears Prada is out in cinemas this weekend
On Friday 1st May, The Devil Wears Prada 2 releases in cinemas and we can’t wait to see Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Stanley Tucci and Anne Hathaway reunite in their iconic roles, 20 years since the first film. To celebrate the release Tyneside Cinema are hosting extra special screenings including Popcorn and Prosecco, pre-film, Afternoon Tea, and Canvas and Cocktails where you can paint a runway-ready masterpiece before the showing. The Arc Cinema in Rotherham is celebrating in style too, with an exclusive Prosecco reception for the premiere. For more of what to watch (and read and listen to) this month, check out our culture guide here.
Flower Power
The Royal Horticultural Society has announced ‘Be Curious’ as the theme for National Gardening Week, and spring means flowers are in full bloom, both outside and in
Until 3rd May, National Gardening Week is inviting people of all ages to ask questions, try something new and discover the many benefits of gardening. Don’t miss the Wildlife Gardening Weekend (on Saturday 2nd and Sunday 3rd May) at RHS Garden Harlow Carr when you can learn how to create a haven for biodiversity, and for more inspiration check out the Homes & Gardens section of our website.
From Saturday 2nd to Monday 4th May, as the northern show garden for Chelsea award-winning Bloms Bulbs, Constable Burton Hall Gardens is showcasing more than 6,000 tulips planted throughout the formal and woodland gardens. The lawn marquees will host displays of cut blooms and there will be expert advice on hand from the Bloms team.
If the weather isn’t playing ball, you can enjoy floral displays indoors at Raby Castle, Park and Gardens as it launches a new floral installation, Castle in Bloom, transforming the castle with breathtaking floral arrangements by renowned florist Anna Potter from Swallows and Damsons, inspired by nature. Launching on Saturday 2nd May for the Bank Holiday weekend, the display will run until the end of August. Plus, see Raby’s collaboration with a floristry residency from Deborah at Periwinkle Barn.
Spring Sipping
Raise a glass to the long weekend. Here’s just a few places to try for good cocktails
In Alnwick
Adam and Eve’s cocktails are creative and they use locally-sourced sprits wherever possible. Our recommendation? The Forbidden, made with rum, banana, salted caramel and Antica Formula.
In Middlesbrough
Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, The Nuthatch has more than 100 spirits from around the world, and their cocktails are all carefully handcrafted so you can watch the magic happen. Their margaritas are always a winner.
In Hull
A fun and vibrant spot in Hull, The Brain Jar has a range of regularly changing, experimental cocktails. Our pick for the season is Painkiller, made with three different rums, Thai coconut, lime, fresh pressed pineapple, fresh pressed OJ and nutmeg.
