Forget your standard Christmas markets, because this brand-new event is set to be a whole lot sweeter.
Is there anything more comforting than a steaming mug of delicious hot chocolate when the weather gets cold? No, we think not.
Whether it's tucking into one round a cosy fire or picking one up on the go to escape the chill, it's the ideal winter warmer for those of us with a sweet tooth.
So you can imagine our sheer excitement when we heard about a Hot Chocolate Festival taking place for the first time ever over in Whitby.
Image: Whitby Hot Chocolate Festival
The festival will take place alongside the popular Whitby Christmas Market and promises plenty of activities for chocolate-lovers to get stuck into.
Guests can expect everything from chocolate tastings and immersive cacao therapies to a chocolate-themed shopping trail, family-friendly games, and even film screenings of your favourite Wonka classics.
And it doesn't stop there, there will also be chocolate painting and moulding, hoopla, a tombola and chocolate board games.
Image: Whitby Hot Chocolate Festival
Local businesses will be able to compete in specialist chocolate awards, including Whitby's Best Hot Chocolate, Best Chocolate Dessert, Best Chocolate Stout and Best Chocolate Cocktail.
Visitors will be able to use the map on the festival website to plan their own chocolate trail made up of local independent businesses taking part.
The best part? Entry to the festival is completely free but is being held in aid of the Whitby Defibrillator Project's Battery Campaign so any donations will go toward the maintenance of Whitby's 40 defibrillators.
The Whitby Hot Chocolate Festival will run from Friday 14 November to Friday 28 November, and you can find out more about it here.
Yard Act are back as they announce first round of UK headline dates since 2024.
We are so, so back.
It's been a few years, but Yard Act have just announced a small selection of UK gigs for later in the year including a homecoming gig at the O2 Academy on Friday 6 November.
The dates follow the band’s first show of the year at the 6Music Festival this Friday across The Pennines in Manchester.
After Leeds, the lads will be performing shows at the O2 Victoria Warehouse on Friday 13 November before making their way down south to the O2 Academy in Brixton on Thursday 26 November.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Yard Act completed the touring for their critically acclaimed second album Where’s My Utopia? with a victory lap back home at the 5000 capacity Millennium Square in Leeds in August 2024.
It was a record that brought a stark change of pace to the acerbic, post-punk of their debut, embracing something altogether more playful and bringing a different energy. It shifted the dynamic on stage too, with the addition of dancing backing singers and additional musicians and openly challenged listeners to reconsider who they thought Yard Act were.
Since then, the band have remained active, whether writing Where’s My Utopia’s follow-up on scratching the itch to get back on stage, heading out across the UK and Europe with The Hives, which was preceded by an intimate one-off show at Blackpool Tower last May.
Following a lengthy stint in the studio, the band now look to the Autumn for three big UK dates and we cannot wait.
Tickets go on artist presale from 10am on Wednesday 25 March before hitting general sale at 10am on Friday 27 March. Sign up here.
Viral brunch cafe Acai and the Tribe is coming to Leeds city centre this spring
Clementine Hall
Leeds health nuts assemble, because acai bowls and superfood smoothies are coming to a city near you.
Incase you've been living under a rock for the past year or so, you may not be clued up on the whole acai bowl trend that has been sweeping up the nation.
Acai is a super berry grown and harvested in the Amazon rainforest, and not only is it absolutely delicious but it has a myriad of health benefits.
Acai and the Tribe first opened four years ago in Manchester, and ever since then it's only gone from strength to strength opening up three other locations across the country.
Images: The Manc Group
Next stop? Leeds. And we couldn't be happier about it.
So, what can we expect from this aesthetically-pleasing and ultra trendy female-owned business? Well, loaded acai bowls that look almost too good to eat, superfood smoothies, coffees, matcha and savoury options like avocado toast.
Announcing the very exciting news to Instagram, Acai and the Tribe said: "You asked, we listened. LEEDS… your new lifestyle arrives soon."
They will be opening on 88 Vicar Lane as part of the Vicar Lane regeneration scheme, which has already scene some great new restaurants being announced such as Sticks'n'Sushi and Dishoom.
It seems like this part of town is suddenly going to be the place to be, and we're very happy to see it.
We'll keep you updated with opening dates as and when we know more but for now, you can find out more about Acai and the Tribe here.
Clementine Hall -
2nd October 2025 
