July is off to a flying start with a week jam packed with foodie openings, headline summer gigs and themed bottomless brunches.
Summer is officially here and Leeds is overflowing with exciting things to do.
The highly anticipated Sounds of The City at Millenium Square begins this week as well as the Leeds Bear Hunt which will be sticking around the city centre all summer long.
Foodies are in for a treat as Six By Nico officially opens it's doors and Neighbourhood are bringing back their iconic Mamma Mia themed brunch at the weekend.
Keep reading to find out what you can get up to.
Leeds Bear Hunt
Begins Saturday 1 July 2023 | Various locations around Leeds
Image: Leeds Bear Hunt
Leeds Bear Hunt is an exciting new trail popping up around Leeds city centre all summer long. Raising money for Leeds Hospital Charity, there will be 35 different giant beat sculptures to find hidden in plain sight, and taking inspiration from the Michael Rosen classic children’s book, you can go on a bear hunt to find them all.
To find out the locations and collect rewards for your bear hunt efforts, you need to download the app on your phone.
Chart-topper George Ezra will be playing two summer headline shows at iconic venue The Piece Hall in Halifax. Tickets are still available and can be purchased here.
Six By Nico opening
Monday 3 July 2023 | 9 East Parade, Leeds city centre
If you’re unfamiliar with Six By Nico, it’s already a popular fixture in nearby Manchester – serving up a different themed tasting menu to diners every six weeks. The brainchild of Scottish chef Nico Simone, the eponymous restaurant chain has proven a hit with locals and tourists across the country for its affordable themed tasting menus.
Previous hit menus at Six by Nico include its Chippy Tea, which offered a unique take on the traditional fish and chip shop dinner, its Fairytale menu, and its Alice In Wonderland-inspired supper with a hot mushroom consomme ‘tea’ and edible sugar paper menus.
Find out more here.
Sounds of the City
Thursday 6 July – Sunday 15 July 2023 | Millenium Square
Image: Millennium Square
One of Leeds’ biggest gig series will be taking over Millennium Square again in the summer of 2023. Already announced are McFly (6 July), Kasabian (7 July) Blossoms with Miles Kane (8 July), Morrissey (12 July) Bastille (13 July), The Wombats (14 July) and Shed Seven (15 July).
Find out more here.
The Big Harewood Garden Party
Saturday 8 July 2023 | Harewood House
There’s a giant garden party going on at Harewood House – and everybody’s invited. With a special collaborative meal designed by internationally-renowned artists Lucy & Jorge Orta to embrace, as well as street food and live entertainment, the day explores the way that “food crosses divides” as part of LEEDS2023 Year of Culture celebrations.
Saturday 8 July – Saturday 15 July 2023 | Various locations
Image: LEEDS2023
The debut week-long festival celebrates dance, artwork, poetry, film and above all, rich heritage and culture, brought to life through art. Featuring a Jollof Cook Off and Cinema Africa at Hyde Park Picture House, there’s something to get involved in every night of the week.
Events are held at Leeds Trinity University, Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds City College, Reginald Centre Library, and Leeds Beckett University throughout the week.
Find out more here.
Mamma Mia Bottomless Brunch
Sunday 9 July 2023 | Neighbourhood, Greek Street, Leeds city centre
Image: The Hoot Leeds
Neighbourhood’s sell-out Mamma Mia bottomless brunch event is back and we couldn’t be more excited.
Prepare to live out your Greek island dreams and sing along to all your favourite ABBA tracks, all whilst enjoying 90 minutes of bottomless drinks and mouthwatering food. We can’t think of a better way to end the week, can you?
There’ll be Mamma Mia performances from live dancers, lip sync battles, dance-offs, and sing-alongs, all soundtracked by your favourite ABBA classics. Drinks wise you are truly spoilt for choice, Neighbourhood offers one of the biggest booze selections in the city when it comes to a bottomless brunch.
The time has come, Light Night Leeds is about to transform the city into a dazzling array of illuminated artworks.
And this year, for the first time in its history, the beloved, free light trail will take place during half term, making it more accessible than ever to families across West Yorkshire.
The streets will be filled with projections, immersive artworks, and light installations across two nights - Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 October 2026.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Happily, that also means it will fall a week after the clocks have gone back, which means the full programme can benefit from the darker evenings and begin from 6pm.
So, if you're heading to Light Night - here's everything you need to know.
Theme
The theme for this year's Light Night will be centred around tales of the city's past and future.
With the theme 'A City Speaks…', this year's trail will form part of Leeds 400, marking 400 years since Leeds was granted its first Royal Charter by King Charles I.
Contemporary art installations like performances and projections across city landmarks will explore the stories, people and places that have shaped Leeds over the past four centuries.
Familiar streets and buildings will be totally transformed for two very special evenings, with more than 40 artworks to discover.
Areas
The stunning light installations will span across eight zones around the city.
These locations are:
Millennium Square
Briggate
Leeds train station
SOYO near Quarry Hill
Wellington Place
South Bank (Aire Park)
University of Leeds
Stourton park-and-ride sites
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Highlights
There's plenty to see at Light Night... and we mean plenty.
So we've handpicked five instillations that you don't want to miss.
Far, Far Away
Briggate
'Follow a trail of light along Briggate and step into an enchanting fairy-tale adventure inspired by the British Library’s collections. Classic stories by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen meet ideas imagined by Leeds schoolchildren, brought vividly to life at an extraordinary scale.'
Call My Name, Call Me Home
Queen's Hotel, Station Zone
'A figure arrives by train to begin a new life in Leeds. Over six minutes, the façade of The Queens Hotel transforms as five decades of memories unfold across roads, streets, bars, hospitals and homes. Buildings appear and disappear, mapping one person’s journey onto the changing landscape of the city'
Butterflies
The Tetley, Aire park
'Look out for four enormous butterflies roaming freely through Aire Park. Lit from within by glowing LEDs, these spectacular puppets float, turn and dance among the crowds to their own musical soundtrack.'
Leeds Bridge 1880/2026
The Light, The Headrow
'See Leeds Bridge shift between past and present in Emily Allchurch’s contemporary response to a painting by Atkinson Grimshaw. His atmospheric 1880 view of the Victorian cast iron crossing, held by Leeds Art Gallery, slowly dissolves into a digital photographic collage of the same scene today.'
Foster 4 Leeds Neons
Cookridge Street
'Look up to discover children’s drawings glowing above Cookridge Street. Each neon artwork began as an image created by a child in care, capturing something they enjoy doing with their foster carer.'
Travel
To help you get there and back safely, there will be park-and-ride facilities at Elland Road and Stourton to accommodate visitors to and from the event, with buses running until later than normal every 15 minutes from both to the city centre at peak times.
There will also be additional buses running throughout the event from these locations with the last bus to Elland Road leaving Trinity P (Boar Lane) at 23:16 GMT and the last bus to Stourton leaving Trinity K (Lower Briggate) at 23:36.
Do I need a ticket?
Nope! Entrance and all the instillations are completely free.
Though the council have warned visitors that there may be some queues for the busier attractions.
You can find out more about Light Night and read about all the instillations here.
Read more: One of the UK’s cult-favourite burger chains is coming to Leeds city centre
Featured image - The Hoot Leeds
Feature
Inside the historic Leeds mill transformed into a thriving hub for creatives
Clementine Hall
Nestled in Armley, Assembly House is an independent creative hub bringing artists together.
Assembly House, based on Canal Road in Armley inside a historic Victorian mill, has become a home for creatives across Leeds since launching in 2013.
The artist-led organisation combines working studios with an independent gallery and project space, hosting everything from exhibitions and workshops to community events and live music.
The space is currently home to 80 creatives who make up their community, comprising of professional practitioners including educators, performers, painters, sculptors, illustrators, video artists and designers.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
Their aim is simple - to offer affordable studios to emerging artists alongside technical support, producing support along with access to workshops, internal film screenings and events.
Assembly House offer a yearly program of exhibitions designed to showcase the studio holders and get their work out there. It's all aimed at helping the artists, whether it's their first show or tenth.
It has also helped bring art into the wider neighbourhood through community murals, public sculptures and activities for local people.
Images: The Hoot Leeds
They believe art has the power to bring people together and to evoke emotion and thought, and we've got to say that we absolutely agree.
The space can also be hired by students and independent creatives looking to put on their own exhibitions or bring a project to life.
The fabulous venue is generally open to visitors during exhibitions, workshops and events, with visits by appointment at other times, so it's worth checking its website before heading over.
To have a look at their current programme and to find out more about what Assembly House are doing for Leeds and the community, you can take a look at their website here.
Clementine Hall -
3rd July 2023 
