Leeds

The best things to do in and around Leeds this week | 14 – 20 August 2023

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Clementine Hall Clementine Hall - 11th August 2023

The sun has finally got his hat on so it's the perfect opportunity to get out and enjoy what our vibrant city has to offer.

August has already been a jam-packed month, but Leeds is certainly not showing any signs of slowing down.

As we edge closer to the highly anticipated Bank Holiday Weekend, we've got some great exhibitions popping up in the city, a music festival by the sea and some epic foodie deals to be taken advantage of.

As usual, we've handpicked some of the best things that you can get up to in and around Leeds.

So what your diary out, and get reading...

Projecting Grief Exhibition

Friday 18 – Sunday 27 August | Victoria Gate

Two women smiling at the camera in a garden.
Image: Supplied

Projecting Grief is the profound work of photographer Jo Ritchie and writer Laura McDonagh. Collaborating with Leeds International Festival of Ideas 2023, they are presenting an inspiring exhibition focusing on the complexities of loss and how art can be a useful medium for grieving.

Viewers can fully immerse themselves in real-life stories of grief and will also have the opportunity to take part in creative workshops covering textile art, writing and paper flower making.

Read more: LIFI 2023 and Projecting Grief collaborate to present new captivating exhibition

Trinity Leeds 'Pick Your Mix'

Monday 14 - Sunday 20 August | Trinity Leeds Shopping Centre

Image: The Hoot Leeds

Fizzy cola bottles, strawberry bon bons, flying saucers…there really is nothing better than a delicious bag of pick ‘n’ mix. And now to our delight, Trinity Leeds shopping centre will be dishing out free sweets as part of their ‘Pick Your Mix’ installation on the top floor.

Every day of the week, ‘Pick Your Mix’ will feature super-size DJ decks being installed underneath the main atrium, where guests can listen to top summer tunes and fill up free goody bags with sweet treats to take home.

This Feeling By The Sea Festival

Friday 18 – Saturday 19 August 2023 | Bridlington Spa, South Marine Dr

 
 
 
 
 
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Some huge names will be playing by the sea this weekend and it's going to be a great one. Liverpool rockers Red Rum Club will get the ground shaking and Manchester band the Lottery Winners are sure to give a performance to remember. 

Tickets are just £50 and you can get yours via Skiddle here. 

Negroni Month at Friends of Ham

Monday 14 – Sunday 20 August | New Station St, Leeds and Brook Street, Ilkley

Yes, you read that correctly. For the entire month of August, Friends of Ham will be serving £5 negronis in both their Ilkley and Leeds locations.

It’s the perfect opportunity to get together with mates, sink a few negronis and indulge on the delicious cheese and charcuterie that Friends of Ham have to offer. You’d be a fool not to get involved in this absolute bargain.

Gusto Bottomless Brunch

Friday 18 - Saturday 19 August | Greek Street

Now we all love a bottomless brunch don't we? And this Italian-themed extravaganza is not one to miss. All Gusto diners will be treated to two delicious Italian courses alongside 90 minutes of non-stop cocktails and Prosecco - mega.⁠

We're talking decadent pasta dishes, juicy burgers, and enough Italian aperitifs to sink a ship. So get your mates together get involved in this unmissable bottomless brunch, you won't regret it.

City Beach Summer Sessions

All of August | The Light Leeds, Cookridge Street

Deck chairs on a manmade beach.
Image: The Light Leeds

Following its huge success in 2021 and 2022, The City Beach invites anyone and everyone to take part in fun beach activities throughout the summer.

The Light will be transformed into a huge sandpit to make you feel like you’re on holiday. The City Beach this year will also host a series of exciting events named ‘Summer Sessions’ for families and cocktail lovers alike, throughout the month of August.

From live music nights to evenings dedicated to Aperol Spritz, there’s a fun event for everyone to get involved in at The Light this summer.

Read more: There’s a beach coming to Leeds city centre for the summer

Leeds

The Maccabees at Kirkstall Abbey – musical reunion of the decade?

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson The Maccabees live at Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds

When bands reunite, it's usually pretty easy to guess what the motive is. A looming tax bill, an incoming divorce, a tanking solo career, for example.

But with The Maccabees, those scenarios feel a long way removed.

This is a band that called it a day at the top of their game - and then have returned even stronger, and seemingly because they just missed being on stage together.

Addressing the near-decade apart while on stage at Kirkstall Abbey, The Maccabees frontman Orlando Weeks sums it up simply: "For a long time we were a band, and then we weren't a band for a bit, and now we're a band again."

He's as softly-spoken a frontman as they come, but then The Maccabees never have leaned entirely on their frontman for their live energy - not when he's flanked by the White brothers.

Felix White spends half the gig sporting an ear-splitting grin, and the other half screaming words of encouragement at the audience like a crazed Top of the Pops presenter. The organised-fun patter might grate if he weren't so phenomenal the moment the music starts again.

Then brother Hugo is a brooding, powerful figure, usually standing with his legs so wide apart I'm surprised he doesn't split his trousers. His stage presence is so cool, so confident, it's hard to take your eyes off him.

Orlando's otherworldly voice is really allowed to shine through with songs like Spit It Out, when the stage reduces to a single spotlight and the other band members actually squat down to minimise the distractions.

The tempo shifts of Marks to Prove It, the urgency of X-Ray and the layered beauty of Wall of Arms all underline just how tightly the band play together.

There will be new music on the way, eventually, and they give us a glimpse into that with The Ballad of So Long, a swooping epic that suggests they still have somewhere new to go.

It's hard to complain that they don't have much more to show us yet - not when the alternative is a greatest hits, belt-every-word live show.

By the end of the night, as The Maccabees wrap up their show at Kirkstall Abbey, there's a quiet confidence about them. They know this comeback works, and we'll be lapping it up for as long as they'll stick around.

Judging by the reaction inside Kirkstall Abbey, everyone else does too.

Read more: Loyle Carner at Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds – tickets, times, setlist and more

Featured image: The Hoot Leeds

Leeds

The popular Manchester brunch spot serving all things viral is coming to Leeds  

Clementine Hall Clementine Hall

A brunch spot made famous across the pond is opening a site in Leeds.

If you're a fiend for all things brunch, then this news is going to get you a little bit excited.

Bruncho is known for its brunch dishes that have a real knack for going viral on social media, including New York-style breakfast rolls in croissant bread; fresh coconut water and matcha served in the coconut; and its innovative watermelon sandwiches.

Oh, and they also went viral for serving a Labubu French Toast...but we'll let the photos do the talking on that one.

Images: The Manc Group

They've currently got one site in Manchester city centre with one more almost ready to open its doors, and now they're making their way across the Pennines and opening their first Yorkshire cafe right here in Leeds. Aren't we lucky.

Announcing the exciting news to Instagram, Bruncho said: "We’ve been keeping a HUGE SECRET, but now it’s finally time to share… LEEDS CITY CENTRE WE’RE COMING FOR YOU!!

"Keep your eyes peeled on our socials, we’ll be announcing our opening date SOON!!"

Images: The Manc Group

With queues constantly forming at their cafe in Deansgate, Manchester - we're sure that their weird and wonderful creations will go down just as well here in Leeds.

It's not the first brunch spot to make their way over, with Federal opening on Boar Lane earlier this year that has been packed out ever since.

We'll of course keep you in the loop with opening dates as and when we find out but for now, Bruncho we can't wait to welcome you to our city.

Read more from The Hoot Leeds:

Featured image - The Manc Group


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