Chow Down have announced that Winter Village will return later this year and that they will no longer be charging entrance fees.
If you live in Leeds, then you will definitely know about Chow Down in Temple Arches.
It's the ultimate weekend activity, think delicious food from a variety of different street food vendors, incredible drinks, live DJ's and an unbeatable, party atmosphere.
After a successful summer season spanning across twenty one electric weekends, the venue is temporarily closing it's gates to get ready for it's next upcoming events.
First up is Oktoberfest, the legendary event full of bratwurst and beer will be taking place over the course of two consecutive weekends.
Image: Oktoberfest Leeds
On the 23 - 24 September and 30th September - 1st October, the site will be filled with oompah dancing and stein swilling and it's set to be one for the memory books.
Last year saw palm trees being swapped for pine trees and sun terraces being transformed into cosy tipis. It was the perfect place to enjoy a mulled wine with friends whilst cosying up round a roaring fire, and we are delighted that it's coming back.
Open from 10 November til 31 December, Temple Arches will resemble a fairytale winter wonderland and is sure to get everybody into the festive spirit.
Yesterday 14 September 2022, Chow Down released a statement on their social media explaining that they will no longer be charging entrance fees for any of their customers.
The statement read "Ever since we opened in Leeds, we've listened to your feedback and strived to keep developing Chow Down to ensure it's the best possible place to experience amazing independent food, drink and entertainment in this great city we call home."
"We understand that rising costs are making times uncertain for many households. With that and your feedback in mind, entry to the venue will now be free of charge for the vast majority of the time at Winter Village."
The lovely people at Chow Down still encourage booking in advance to avoid disappointment and you can find out more about this here.
Thanks to Chow Down, the end-of-summer blues are no more as we look forward to the exciting events ahead.
In honour of National Chocolate Week, two big brands are joining forces.
Fancy a freebie? Silly question, of course you do.
Tony’s Chocolonely and Yorkshire Tea have joined forces for National Chocolate Week to ask Brits to declare themselves a ‘Melt’...yes, really.
It comes after the brands discovering a new Gen Z dunking trend, with research finding that 80% of 18–24-year-olds say chocolate is their preferred tea-dunking treat.
To understand why the perculiar pairing has become so popular, the brands recruited Associate Professor of Psychobiology, Dr Lorenzo Stafford, to investigate what happens when tea and chocolate come together.
Associate Professor, Dr Lorenzo Stafford said: "It's fascinating to see how much thought Brits put into what makes a great dunk. Flavour, texture and temperature all shape how we experience food, and the combination of hot tea with melting chocolate creates a particularly enjoyable sensory experience.
"When it comes to dunking, tea and chocolate have great chemistry so it’s no surprise young people have embraced it."
If you want to try it out for yourself, then you can for free - but there is one catch.
From Monday 19 to Friday 23 October, anyone who walks into one of Hyde Park Book Club in Leeds and says ‘I'm a Melt’ will get a free mug of Yorkshire Tea and bar of Tony's Chocolonely.
Not only that, but the first 100 customers will also get a limited-edition ‘Melt’ cap.
Yorkshire Tea & Tony’s Chocolonely said of the partnership, “Brits love their tea and their chocolate and now the science shows why. This National Chocolate Week, we’re inviting everyone to give it a go, embrace their inner Melt and discover just how well chunky chocolate and a proper brew can work together.”
Leeds Bradford Airport strikes will NOT go ahead following ‘late offer’ over pay
Clementine Hall
This weekend's strikes at Leeds Bradford Airport have been cancelled.
Around 130 workers were set to walk out this weekend, Unite said, but this has been suspended to allow air traffic controllers to consider a new pay offer.
The Unite members planning on to go on strike were a mixture of air traffic control workers, customer experience staff, security staff and cleaners.
The workers involved in the dispute had recently come out of a four-year pay deal, with some of the departments having fallen behind other airports in equivalent roles.
Pay talks have been happening since December 2025, with the airport's formal offer not going far enough to address the lack of pay parity which led to the decision to strike.
However, as of yesterday 15 October, the workers have been given new pay offers from the airport and the strikes will not take place to allow a ballot on the offers.
Air traffic controllers and hourly paid staff are being balloted separately on their respective offers.
Unite regional officer Neil Whitaker said: "After receiving offers from Leeds Bradford Airport, we have suspended this week’s strike action in good faith to allow members to vote on pay deals.”
In a statement, Leeds Bradford Airport said: "While the ballot process continues with certain members of our frontline colleagues, we remain hopeful that a positive outcome can be achieved and that an agreement can be reached which works for everyone involved.
"Regardless of the outcome of this ballot, LBA has a robust contingency plan in place and will be operating as normal this weekend.
"Our focus remains on supporting a smooth and reliable experience for customers while maintaining safe and efficient airport operations."
Clementine Hall -
15th September 2022 
