A massive food and drink event is taking place just a 20-minute drive from Leeds this weekend - and organisers have just revealed an extensive free music line-up.
The inaugural Summer Unlocked food and drink weekender takes place from Friday 29 to Sunday 31 July, bringing a host of street food traders, a dedicated bar and a huge roster of live music to City Park in Bradford.
There'll be an array of open-air and covered seating areas, a bespoke bandstand and lush greenery - creating a woodland themed drinking and dining experience that looks set to rival similar dos in Leeds and Manchester.
Ilkley favourites Luigi street food will also be at the festival / Image: Luigistreetfood
The Summer Garden, a unique pop-up festival space, will include tents and picnic-style areas offering both indoor and outdoor seating, with free, walk-in access for all.
Food traders like The Savvy Baker, whose lockdown brownie business has taken Leeds by storm, and Ilkley food festival staple Luigi Street Food will be on hand with tasty treats; alongside plant-based Indian food from Honest Supper Club and authentic Canadian poutine from Spud n Bro’s.
Other food traders include Big Phillies, JJ’s Caribbean Kitchen and Rum Shack and Lekker Eat Dutch. There will be a mix of bars across the site, including a prosecco bar, a gin and Pimms station and beer bar, plus a range of coffee stations.
On the music front, Friday and Saturday will see Buskival take over the stage in City Park with music from the likes of Ntantu, Lissy Davies, Sunflower Thieves and many more, whilst on Sunday a Musical Calligraphy takeover will put D Dipak Mistry and Razwan on the ones and twos.
On Friday 30 July, live music will run from 2 pm - 7 pm, featuring the likes of Mookie + the Bab, Miranda Arieh and Terri Shaltiel.
A selection of the street food treats on offer this weekend / Image: Luigistreetfood
Then on Saturday 31 July, music runs from 1 pm - 7 pm with performances from Chante Amour, Sunflower Thieves, Henna, Harris, Skinner and Ntantu.
Sunday will close with sets from DJ Dipak Mistry and artist Razwan Ul-Haq, who will combine the music of classical South Asian Ghazals and Qawwali with traditional Arabic calligraphy in an exciting visual performance from 11 am - 3 pm.
Food and drink vendors will operate daily from 12 - 8pm.
This weekend, Summer Unlocked will bring to life the public spaces that have become so important to so many during the lockdown months - our streets, neighbourhoods and civic spaces, our moors, our gardens and our parks.
Taking place alongside a programme of live theatre, music, film and much more, with acrobatic displays on the canals, poetry in car parks and vibrant street art, families can also look forward to getting out and active with activities such as climbing towers, dance and den building.
Coming at a time when the district continues to expand its cultural activity, as it prepares to bid for the UK City of Culture 2025 title, the Summer of Fun project is funded by the Department for Education’s Holiday Activities and Food programme (HAF).
Feature image - Spud n Bros.
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Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Georgina Pellant -
30th July 2021 
