Holi Festival, known as the Festival of Colours, is back this year as a celebration that can finally return in person.
To mark the end of the two-year hiatus, Leeds Holi Festival is Leeds biggest festival of colour and you can bet that this year's celebration is going to more than make up for lost time.
The event celebrates forgiveness and peace and is widely celebrated in places like India, Nepal and Pakistan, as well as around in a whole host of events around the world.
Image: John Thomas, Unsplash
Here in Leeds, the celebrations will involve the traditional dry powder paints, as well as the serving of street food, live DJs and performances right in the heart of the city.
On Sunday 20 March, a seven hour festival run by the Leeds Indian Student Association will return to the Beaverworks.
Leeds Holi Festival is all about celebrating peace, love and equality with bright colours and live music- and we can't wait to celebrate the Festival of Colour in such a friendly environment.
Organiser Eshaan told The Hoot Leeds that: "Colour festival is all about peace, love, equality. It eliminates all negativity like racism, religion etc. It unites people from different cultures" and sounds like the ultimate celebration to us.
Image: Leeds Holi Festival
There will be four live DJs including Bollynights team, performances from talent near and far, as well as street food from local takeaway and catering service Punjabi Heaven.
Slingsby Gin have agreed to sponsor the event, where you'll leave covered head to toe in bright colours from Ministry of Colours.
"Holi is a festival of love, peace and happiness. A celebration of fertility, colour, and love, as well as the triumph of good versus evil. Join the party as we welcome the spring and celebrate the new life and energy of the season through music and colour."
The festival last took place in 2019, and the long-awaited return has been highly anticipated. Tier one tickets have already sold out for the seven hour event, but remaining tier two tickets are still available for purchase.
The Wombats aren’t just still going strong - they’re getting better. And honestly? Long may they reign.
The Wombats absolutely tore the roof off the First Direct Arena in Leeds last night, Wednesday 26 March and what a night it was.
From the second they hit the stage it wasn’t just a gig, it was a full-blown indie-pop spectacle, packed with infectious energy, nostalgia, and a whole lot of dancing.
They kicked things off with “Moving to New York,” and honestly? The crowd was in from the first note.
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Matthew Murphy’s unmistakable vocals rang through the arena and suddenly, thousands of people were screaming every lyric like it was 2007 all over again. It was one of those moments where you could just feel how much this band still means to people.
Despite the massive venue, The Wombats somehow made it feel intimate. The lights? Pure chaos in the best way - vibrant, colourful, and totally in sync with the band’s wild, bouncy sound.
Murphy’s cheeky banter between songs made it feel less like a polished arena show and more like a jam session with a few thousand of your closest mates.
Setlist-wise, they nailed it. “Let’s Dance to Joy Division” and “Greek Tragedy” had the whole place losing it, while the stripped-down version of “Techno Fan” gave everyone a minute to breathe (and maybe get a little emotional).
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Those quieter moments just made the high-energy choruses hit even harder. It was a rollercoaster - in the best way possible.
Then came the encore. If you thought the crowd was loud before, “Kill the Director” took things to another level. Pure, chaotic indie bliss. The kind of moment you don’t want to end.
Here’s the thing about The Wombats: some might say their older songs hit harder than their newer stuff, but is that just nostalgia talking? Or maybe it’s a generational thing?
Either way, they proved they’re still one of the most exciting live bands out there. They’ve still got the hooks, the humour, and the ability to turn a massive arena into a sweaty, euphoric singalong.
Get Baked’s viral ‘Bertha’ cake has a sister on the way – and she sounds just as cheeky
Danny Jones
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.”
Sophie Smith -
28th February 2022 
