After a two year break due to Covid, Ilkley Carnival is back with a bang.
The family fun day will return this year on Monday 2 May - May Day Bank Holiday 2022.
The volunteer-run May Day event has raised over £60,000 for causes within the local community since 2012- including schools, sports clubs, drama groups and local charities.
The day kicks off with a fantastical parade which starts on The Grove with over 1,000 participants from local schools, organisations, scouts and guides; the parade then finishes off at the show ground where a day of fun and festivities unfolds for all the family.
Image: Ilkley Carnival
This year's carnival has something for everyone and you'll be spoilt for choice with activities to get involved with and performances to watch. There's a 'Fun Dog Show' where you can enter your furry friend to win a prize in a number of categories including happiest dog, scruffiest dog and golden oldie.
The headline act taking the stage are The 3Sixty Bicycle Stunt Team who hold no less than 8 Guinness World Records, they will be delighting the audience with an array of high-flying leaps, tricks and skills.
Image: Ilkley Carnival
There will also be a funfair with all your classics, think hook-a-duck and basketball shoot where you can try your luck to win a prize.
If you're feeling brave you can take a ride on the waltzers or make your way through the fun house. You can find the full timetable for the day on the Ilkley Carnival website.
All profits from ticket sales go back into the local community and you can buy your tickets on the gates to the fairground, tickets will cost £6 per adult and £2 per child.
A new street food spot has sadly closed its doors just two months after opening.
Back in May, a beautiful taste of the Mediterranean was was brought to us by Shvaan, a very talented chef who previously worked alongside his family at Eastern Oven in Kirkgate Market.
An absolute gem of a spot, Eastern Oven is known for its fresh breads, aromatic meats and plates bursting with colour - and this is exactly what Shvaan set up with FenerBar.
This new venture opened up inside The Attic, a multidisciplinary arts and events space just on the outskirts of the city centre by The Tetley and the new Aire Park development.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Serving up Eastern Mediterranean dishes like mackerel, lamb and beef kebabs, as well as various colourful vegan plates, everything at Fenerbar was homemade and you could really tell the amount of love put into each and every dish.
Unfortunately, Fenerbar has now closed its doors with owner Shvaan stating 'it wasn't it's time'.
Announcing the sad news to Instagram, Fenerbar said: "fenerBar has been closed. It wasn’t its time, whether it’s from the past or in the future, we’ll have to find out.
"Many thanks to @theatticleeds for hosting me and giving me the space to give it a shot. Wish them all the best. And thanks to everyone who came."
Of course in true Leeds fashion, fellow independents flocked to the comments showing their support and wishing Fenerbar all the luck in the next chapter.
We're sure this isn't the end for Shvaan's talents, and we can't wait to see what he does next.
Vinyl-only 1970s-inspired cocktail bar coming to Leeds from team behind some of the city’s best bars
Clementine Hall
A new cocktail bar is coming to Leeds city centre.
If you know a thing or two about cocktails, or just drinks in general, then you're going to be very excited about this news.
The very talented team behind Roland's on Call Lane and The Domino Club, just to name a few, are setting their sites on a brand-new venture.
Introducing Paper Plane, an intimate new cocktail bar that will be taking over the old Casa site in the city's beautiful Grand Arcade.
Paper Plane will be inspired by the glamour of 1970s air travel and will be a vinyl-only listening bar, serving a world-inspired cocktail menu alongside a carefully curated whisky collection.
The space will be lovely and intimate, with around just 40 covers, designed to transport guests somewhere completely different from the minute they step foot through the door.
And what a location too, joining a whole host of fantastic independents in the arcade such as Alfonso's Deli, Stuzzi and Sonder.
For now, we don't know many more details about the project, but we already know it's going to be exceptional cas anything these guys do turns to gold.
Not only has Roland's been consistently one of the busiest bars on Call Lane since they opened back in 2014, but The Domino Club was recently crowned one of the best cocktail bars in the world. Now that is some accolade worth shouting about.
We'll keep you updated with Paper Plane's progress, but Roland's have stated that the site is hoping to open this coming autumn. So we really don't have long to wait.
Clementine Hall -
29th April 2022 
