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York Pride 2020 cancelled but LGBT festival vows to be on parade next year

Parade halted: No York Pride celebration in 2020

YORK Pride 2020 on June 6 is off, the annual LGBT festival scuppered by the Coronavirus lockdown.

“Following the advice of the Government and Public Health England on mass gatherings and social events during the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic, we have reluctantly taken the decision to cancel York Pride 2020,” says event director Greg Stephenson, on behalf of the committee.

“This has been a heart-breaking call for us to make after all the work we have already put into this year’s event. However, we would never put the health and wellbeing of our pride-goers, volunteers, artists or traders at risk, or stretch the resources of our emergency services at a time when they are needed more elsewhere.”

Re-arranging the York LGBT Pride Festival 2020 has been ruled out. “York Pride takes the whole year to plan,” says Greg. “While we have been carefully considering all options, as it is unclear how long current measures will remain in place, or how the situation may develop, it is sadly impossible for us to reschedule for later this year.

“With so many uncertainties, we ultimately believe this is the right decision to protect our long-term future.”

Instead, the committee will concentrate all its efforts on “delivering you a truly amazing York Pride in 2021”.

“We’d like to say a huge thank-you to all our sponsors, stallholders and suppliers for their support this year,” says Greg.

“Thank you to all of you too for hopefully understanding why we have had to make this tough decision, because nobody is as disappointed as we are. In the meantime, please let’s all look after ourselves and our community.”

CANCELLED: .“This has been a heart-breaking call for us to make after all the work we have already put into this year’s event,” says York Pride event director Greg Stephenson

York Pride will email directly all those who have stall bookings and parade bookings and those who have agreed sponsorship for 2020.

“For stallholders who have not paid yet, we will simply cancel the booking for York Pride 2020 and you will need to reapply next year for York Pride 2021,” says Greg.

“For stallholders who have paid, thank you for paying your invoice; it has been much appreciated.”

Greg outlines two options for those with a stalls invoice. “Our preferred option would be to carry your booking straight over to York Pride 2021,” he says.

“This cuts down admin work of processing refunds for our small team of volunteers. We’d imagine this is the best option for other community groups, charities and regular attendees at our event.

“If, later down the line you cannot make our 2021 date, we would of course offer a full refund.”

The second option is the provision of full refunds for those who require it. “These are difficult times and we understand that for many of our traders you will need these funds. We’d imagine this is the best option for food and beverage stalls who have paid larger pitch fees.”

Whichever option is chosen, stallholders are required to fill in a form on the York Pride website, yorkpride.org.uk.

York Pride wristbands

The committee has addressed the matter of parade applicants too. “Thank you to all those who have applied to be in our 2020 parade,” says Greg. “With the emergence of Covid-19, we took the decision not to invoice at the time we normally would. Should we be in the position to cancel, it was fewer refunds for us to process.

“You will need to reapply for York Pride 2021 when applications open later in the year.”

Greg thanked York Pride 2020’s sponsors. “We have been overwhelmed with the response. I will be contacting sponsors directly to discuss arrangements,” he says.

York Pride is making plans to re-book all acts for 2021. “We will also be making a deposit payment for those who wish to be re-booked,” says Greg. “We hope this small gesture will come in handy as many of our acts will be self-employed and suffer the most through the current situation.”

In a closing message to the public in York Pride’s official statement on the website, Greg says: “We have taken steps to ensure our financial risks through cancellation are minimised.

“We have already ordered things such as York Pride 2020 wristbands. We will be looking to sell these for a suggested donation of £2 in the coming weeks and would appreciate any support you can offer at this difficult time. Thank you to everyone for your continued support. All the best and keep safe.”

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No shows, no gigs, no ideas? Feeling listless? Here are 10 Things To Do At Home, courtesy of The Press, York

Nothing happening full stop. Now, with time on your frequently washed hands, home is where the art is and plenty else besides

Exit 10 Things To See Next Week in York and beyond for the unforeseeable future. Enter home entertainment, wherever you may be, whether still together or in isolation, in the shadow of the Coronavirus pandemic. From behind his closed door, CHARLES HUTCHINSON makes these suggestions.

Compiling your Desert Island Discs

CREATE your own Desert Island Discs and accompanying reasons, should you ever be called to answer Lauren Laverne’s questions on the BBC Radio 4 Sunday morning staple. Cue Eric Coates’s opening theme, By The Sleepy Lagoon, then your eight music choices, one book choice, one luxury.

Then play your list, but cutting it down to eight will be much harder than you first expect.

Make a cut-out of Lauren Laverne and do your own edition of Desert Island Discs

Desert Island Discs, suggestion number two

AND while you are about it, also take every opportunity to raid the Beeb’s Desert Island Discs back catalogue at BBC Sounds. Recommendations? Ian Wright, former footballer, turned broadcaster; Dr John Cooper Clarke, sage Salford stick insect and man of multitudinous words; Kathy Burke, Camden Town actress, comedian, writer, producer and director.

Make a timetable for the day

LIKE you would at work…though this timetable may not be possible, if indeed you are working from home.

Nevertheless, should the time need passing, allow, say, an hour for each activity, be it writing; reading; playing board games at the stipulated distances apart or card games, which can be done on your own, such as Patience; watching a movie, maybe a long-neglected DVD rescued from a dusty shelf; or whatever else is on your list.

“Puzzles are wonderfully relaxing yet keep the brain very active ,” says jigsaw enthusiast and York actor Ian Giles

Re-discover a childhood joy

PLUCKING one out of the air, how about jigsaw puzzles, a favourite of Mother Hutch and Granny Pyman before her.

“They are wonderfully relaxing yet keep the brain very active and there’s a feeling of creative satisfaction on completion,” recommends York actor Ian Giles, a devotee of such puzzle solving.

Singing

YORK singer Jessa Liversidge runs the Singing For All choir, as heard savouring I’d Like To Teach The World To Sing at Big Ian’s A Night To Remember at a packed York Barbican (remember those days?) on Leap Year Saturday.

Now, abiding by the Government’s Avoid Unnecessary Social Contact advice, to keep people singing, she is planning a range of online singing opportunities to suit not only her Singing For All and Easingwold Community Singers folks, but “any frustrated singers”. “Get in touch to find out how to join,” says Jessa, whose Twitter account is @jessaliversidge. She posts regularly.

Still on song: York singer Jessa Liversidge would like to reach the world to sing online

Lighting a candle

THE Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend Dr John Sentamu, is asking us all to place a lighted candle in our window at 7pm this coming Sunday “as a sign of solidarity and hope in the light of Christ that can never be extinguished”.

Baking

ALL those cookbooks that you bought for the nice pictures, but have never opened since, are bursting with opportunities to try out a new dish…if the supermarket shelves have not been emptied by 10 o’clock in the morning.

Why not raid the store cupboard too, check the dates (and the dried dates from last Christmas) and see if anything may come in handy. The likelihood is more and more hours will have to be spent at home; this is a chance to stretch your culinary skills.

Candlelight: The Archbishop of York, the Most Reverend Dr John Sentamu’s Sunday request

Gardening

HOPEFULLY, going for walks, maintaining a safe, previously anti-social distance, will still be a possibility, as advocated by Prime Minister Johnson, until otherwise stated.

If not, or if isolation is your way ahead, spring is in the air, gardens are turning green, the grass is growing. Gardening will surely be one of the unbroken joys of the ever-so-uncertain path that lies ahead.

Should you not have a garden, windowsills are havens for green-fingered pursuits: the seeds of much content.

And what about…

Podcasts. Books. More podcasts. More books. Box sets (yawn). Discovering a new band online, or maybe an old one you had long neglected. Writing a 10 Things like this one. Reading Bard of Barnsley Ian McMillan’s morning Tweets, or any time of day, in fact. Reading York musician and motivational speaker Big Ian Donaghy’s perennially positive thoughts for the day @trainingcarers, BIGIAN #DEMENTIAisAteamGAME. Watch Channel 4 News, especially Jon Snow, one bright-tied 72 year old who should defy the imminent Government “curfew” on the over-70s. (UPDATE: 19/3/2020. Or maybe not. Tonight he broadcast from his central London home.)

Poetry in motion: Ian McMillan’s joyous Tweets from his early-morning walks

And finally…

PLEASE stop flicking through social media at every turn…except for displays of the ever-so-British black humour in response to the new C-word.

Any suggestions for further editions of 10 Things To Do At Home And Beyond are most welcome. Please send to charles.hutchinson104@gmail.com

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Doors shut on York Open Studios as Coronavirus scuppers artist showcase

The brochure cover for the now cancelled 2020 York Open Studios

NEXT month’s 20th anniversary York Open Studios has been called off and will not be rearranged for later in the year under the ever-darkening shadow of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Launched in 2001, when only 20 artists took part, Britain’s longest-running Open Studios event was to have showcased 144 artists and makers in 100 studios and workplaces over two weekends, April 18 and 19 and April 25 and 26.

The York Open Studios logo

Event chair Beccy Ridsdel says: “It’s been a very difficult decision to make, but the safety of visitors and participating artists is our priority, and with Coronavirus advice currently changing daily, we have sadly decided we are unable to proceed with this year’s event. However, York Open Studios will be running in 2021.”

Now the focus turns to still highlighting the work of the 144 artists, makers and designers, whose full details can be found at yorkopenstudios.co.uk and in the newly redundant 2020 brochure that can be found around the city.

“It’s been a very difficult decision to make,” says York Open Studios chair Beccy Ridsdel after Coronavirus forced the cancellation of next month’s event

“These small creative businesses are in need of support during these volatile times, so please take time to take a look at their work, websites and social media pages and contact them directly to purchase works,” advise the event organisers.

On show and for sale would have been ceramics, collages, digital works, illustrations, jewellery, mixed media, paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, textiles and wood works.

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CORONAVIRUS: Pocklington Arts Centre closes doors but will return “stronger and more vibrant” in 20th anniversary year

Janet Farmer: director of Pocklington Arts Centre

POCKLINGTON Arts Centre is closing its doors to the public with effect from today in response to the Government’s Coronavirus measures, but vows to re-emerge “stronger and more vibrant than ever” in its 20th anniversary year.

A statement released by director Janet Farmer and venue manager James Duffy  this morning said: “In the light of the Government’s latest advice for people to avoid non-essential contact, we have taken the decision to close PAC to the public as of today (Tuesday, March 17).

“The health and safety of our staff, visitors, artists and volunteers is of utmost importance to us and therefore we do not feel it is prudent to remain open to the public at this time.”

Their statement continues: “We don’t know yet how long this closure will last, but this will be at least until Easter 2020 [mid-April]. Further updates will be announced in due course.

“During this period, it is critical that we continue to support our staff, artists and creative partners. We will be working closely with our peers across the region and indeed the country, and we are determined that PAC will emerge from this challenge stronger and more vibrant than ever. We will be publishing more on this in the coming days.”

Anyone who has booked a ticket or is due to attend a public event at PAC will be contacted by the box-office team over the next few days to organise a refund and/or discuss the cancellation.

Robert Plant: booked to headline this summer’s Platform Festival with his new band Saving Grace

“Tickets can be refunded but we would ask you to consider supporting the venue and artists by not accepting a refund, if you are able to afford to,” suggested the statement. “We will of course try to reschedule events, but this may take some time, so please bear with us in these very challenging times.”

Pocklington Arts Centre will be setting up a crowdfunding page later this week. “We’ll publish details of this on our social media accounts,” said Janet and James. “If you feel able to donate to this, your support would be most welcome to help secure the long-term future of the venue.”

The statement concluded: “Please visit our social media channels and website [pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk] for daily/weekly updates and as to when PAC will reopen.
“Many thanks for your understanding. We very much appreciate your patience in this unprecedented situation. Take care and keep safe.”

Pocklington Arts Centre’s spring and summer programme to mark the East Yorkshire venue’s 20th anniversary was launched on March 6 with a party night of New Orleans Mardi Gras jazz by the New York Brass Band.

Planned as the epicentre of the celebrations is the fifth Platform Festival of music and comedy, hosted by PAC at The Old Station, with the headline attraction of Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant’s new project, Saving Grace, on July 10.

Full details can be found at platformfestival.net and pocklingtonartscentre.co.uk.

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Thought for the morning after…Was this the day the music died?

Just what exactly did happen yesterday?

HAS there ever been a more cynical, anti-arts, pro-insurance industry posh pals statement from Prime Minister Johnson than yesterday’s first Coronavirus daily briefing?

For one so notoriously careless with words, despite his love of a luxuriant lexicon, his careful avoidance of enforcing a shutdown of pubs, clubs, theatres etc, in favour of merely recommending “avoiding unnecessary social” interaction, effectively amounts to washing his and his Government’s hands of the future of one of the power houses of British life: the entertainment industry.

No formal closures means no chance of insurance pay-outs. In an already increasingly intolerant, Right-veering Britain, with its Brexit V-sign to Europe, could it be this is another way to try to suffocate and stifle our potent, provocative, influential, politically challenging, counter-thinking, all-embracing, anti-divisive, collective-spirited, often radical, always relevant, life-enriching, rather than rich-enriching, font of free expression, protest and empowerment?

Was this the day the music died?

History shows that the arts, the pubs, the theatres, the counter-culture, has always found a way to bite back, to fight back, often at times of greatest repression and depression. No Margaret Thatcher, no Specials’ Ghost Town.

We and our very necessary social interactions shall be back, hopefully after only a short break. Meanwhile, we are all in the hands of science, that equally progressive bedfellow to the arts.

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All you need is extra tickets and a new venue for music film-maker Tony Palmer’s Harrogate Film Festival event

Film-maker Tony Palmer with The Beatles’ John Lennon

A RUSH of ticket sales has prompted a change of venue for The Rock Goes To The Movies evening with BAFTA-winning filmmaker Tony Palmer next month in Harrogate.

This exclusive Harrogate Film Festival event on March 12 will switch from RedHouse Originals art gallery to The Clubhouse at Cold Bath Brewing Co, on Kings Road, only five minutes from the original location on Cheltenham Mount.

“The evening sold out all its stickers at £12 a pop so quickly that we’ve have had to move to a bigger location,” says Harrogate Advertiser journalist and Charm event promoter Graham Chalmers, a stalwart of the Harrogate music scene, who will be hosting the Q&A with the legendary film-maker, now 77.

“That means extra tickets have been put on sale and are available via the box office at Harrogate Theatre.”

All existing tickets are still valid for the new venue for the 7pm event that will combine a film screening with the Q&A session about Palmer’s work with The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Leonard Cohen, Rory Gallagher, Cream, Frank Zappa, The Who, Donovan and many more.

The London-born film-maker and cultural critic has more than 100 films to his name, ranging from early works with The Beatles, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Rory Gallagher (Irish Tour ’74) and Frank Zappa (200 Motels), to his classical profiles of Maria Callas, Margot Fonteyn, John Osborne, Igor Stravinsky, Richard Wagner, Benjamin Britten, Ralph Vaughan Williams and more besides.

Over the past 50 years, Palmer has received more than 40 international prizes, including 12 gold medals from the New York Film Festival, along with numerous BAFTAs and Emmy Awards.

The Beatles: rare screening of Tony Palmer’s film of the Fab Four will be a highlight of the Harrogate Film Festival event on March 12

Palmer, who served an apprenticeship with Ken Russell and Jonathan Miller, made the landmark film All My Loving, the first ever about pop music history, first broadcast in 1968.

He was responsible too for the iconic live film Cream Farewell Concert, shot at the supergroup’s last-ever show at the Royal Albert Hall: a memorable night with Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in 1968.

Harrogate Film Festival founder Adam Chandler says: “Tony Palmer’s glittering career deserves such an event, so we can’t wait to welcome him. We’re delighted this film-making legend is so popular and are grateful to our venue partners, Cold Bath Brewing Co and RedHouse Originals, for enabling this exciting event to happen.”

Host Chalmers says: “Palmer is the greatest arts documentary filmmaker Britain has produced in the past 50 years and personally knew most of the greatest figures in the classical music world, as well as rock music.

“The fact he’s making the journey to Harrogate as a stand-alone event shows how highly regarded Harrogate Film Festival is nationally and shows that Harrogate, despite appearances, is a town with a genuine rock’n’roll pedigree.”

RedHouse Originals gallery previously has played host to Pop Art doyen Sir Peter Blake and still will be involved in next month’s event, hanging classic 1960s’ artwork and photography at The Clubhouse and curating the music playlist for the after-show party.

The sleeve artwork for All You Need Is Love, Tony Palmer’s 1977-1978 series on The Story Of Popular Music

Presented by Chalmers in conjunction with Harrogate Film Society, Rock Goes To The Movies will feature a rare screening of Palmer’s film about The Beatles that featured in his All You Need Is Love TV series, with a script by Fab Four insider Derek Taylor, plus clips from Palmer’s Cream Farewell Concert film.

Tickets available from harrogatetheatre.co.uk, on 01423 502116 or in person from the Harrogate Theatre box office. More information on the 2020 Harrogate Film Festival at harrogatefilm.co.uk.

Any profits from the evening will go to Harrogate Film Society and Harrogate Film Festival.



Tony Palmer’s ten music films
1. All You Need Is Love,1975-1976,17-part series on the history of American Popular Music from Bing Crosby to The Beatles.
2. Bird On A Wire, 1972, featuring Leonard.
3. All My Loving,1968, including The Who, The Beatles and more.
4. Cream Farewell Concert 1968.        
5. 200 Motels – Frank Zappa,1971.
6. Rory Gallagher – Irish Tour,1974.        
7. A Time There Was, 1979, profile of composer Benjamin Britten.
8. Tangerine Dream – Live In Coventry Cathedral,1975.
9. Ginger Baker In Africa,1971.
10. Wagner – By Charles Wood, music conducted by Georg Solti, photographed by Vittorio Storaro; with Richard Burton, Vanessa Redgrave and Laurence Olivier,1983.

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Anyone for Dennis? Jorvik Viking Festival makes plans with storm sequel brewing

Storm brewing but the Vikings can handle a little disturbance at the upcoming festival

JORVIK Viking Festival is to launch on Saturday with new venues to avoid Storm Dennis, the all-too-soon sequel to Storm Ciara nightly, daily and nightly again.

In keeping with the Vikings knowing where and when to anchor their boats and pitch their tents on their world travels, this weekend’s Norse invaders of York will be tweaking their plans slightly in the face of Storm Dennis being expected to unleash its fury over the next few days.

Festival manager Gareth Henry, of York Archaeological Trust, says: “We breathed a sigh of relief when Storm Ciara missed us, but it seems that Thor has taken a leaf out of his trickster brother’s repertoire and is throwing Dennis our way for our opening weekend.

“Thankfully, the Vikings are a hardy and adaptable bunch, so we’ve managed to rearrange most of the most exposed parts of the festival to alternative, sheltered and indoor locations for the first few days, and we hope to have everything back to normal from Tuesday or Wednesday, weather permitting.”

The biggest changes will be to the Viking encampment, normally sited in Parliament Street.  From Saturday to Monday, however, it will be relocated to the Undercroft at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall, where entry will be free on all three days. (Usual admission applies to other parts of Merchant Adventurers’ Hall.) 

Many events planned for the St Sampson’s Square stage and Parliament Street marquee temporarily will be relocated to Spark: York – the venue for Viking Crafting for Kids – on Piccadilly on Saturday and Sunday, including Saga Storytelling and the festival’s newest event, the Viking Costume Competition, on Saturday at 3pm.

Have-a-go Sword Workshops will take place in DIG: An Archaeological Adventure on St Saviourgate from Saturday to Monday, hopefully returning to St Sampson’s Square on Tuesday, February 18 for the rest of the festival run. 

The Nine Realms Bar will operate as normal in Parliament Street for the festival’s duration, within the Parliament Street Tent that also will host Viking Crafting for Kids during the weekdays. The Festival Information Stand can be found in the Parliament Street Tent on Saturday to Monday but should move outdoors to St Sampson’s Square on Tuesday. 

At this stage, the only events to have been cancelled are the city tours, taking place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, starting instead on Tuesday.  Thankfully, flooding has only affected riverside areas accustomed to high water levels each year, and the vast majority of the city remains unaffected and open for business, including the Jorvik Viking Centre in Coppergate. 

“We’re confident that visitors can still enjoy an amazing Viking experience despite these changes,” says Gareth. “But we hope that the good people of York will consider offering a poem or two to Thor – as Norse explorer Thorhall did in the Saga of Erik the Red – to bring this weather chaos to an end ahead of our second festival weekend, when hordes of warriors will once again descend on the city and march through our historic streets.”

Festival visitors are advised to keep an eye on social media and the festival website, jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk, for the latest news and any other scheduling changes.

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The best things in Viking life are free at Jorvik Viking Festival. Here’s why…

Best Beard Competition: men, women, children and even dogs can compete at the 2020 Jorvik Viking Festival

WHAT are the best ways to see the Vikings for free at the 2020 Jorvik Viking Festival from February 15 to 23?

Families on a budget visiting the York festival can enjoy a taste of Viking life without breaking the bank, say the organisers, who are providing a host of events throughout the nine days free of charge.

Run by the York Archaeological Trust charity, the celebration of all things Norse takes over the city centre for the February half-term holiday.

Accessibility and education are at the heart of the trust’s aims, prompting festival manager Gareth Henry to explain the importance of having a mix of free and priced events. “Sharing stories about York’s past has been a huge part of what the trust has done over the past four decades,” he says.

“While we have to charge to off-set the costs for some of our events, we’re always keen to make sure there’s plenty to see and do that is completely free of charge, including the most impressive annual parade in York.”

Eric Bloodaxe catches up on the history of the Vikings in a book-reading session

The 2020 Jorvik Viking Festival free events are:

  • The Viking Encampment in Parliament Street, running daily throughout the festival from 10am to 4pm. Meet re-enactors, historic interpreters and traditional craftspeople in their living history encampment at the heart of the city.  Everyone has their own tale to tell, so take time to watch them working and listen to them sharing stories of their lives and wares.
  • Sagas on the St Sampson’s Square Stage at regular intervals each day; times will be published on a blackboard each day. Listen to heroes, explorers and settlers as they relate their stories and watch them demonstrate the battle techniques that helped to create their reputation as fearsome warriors.
  • Inaugural Viking Costume Competition, open to the public to take part at St Sampson’s Square Stage, February 15, from 3pm.The Vikings were clean, well groomed and often well dressed as a display of wealth and status.  Don’t merely watch the Vikings strut their stuff; join in!  Fashion a Viking throw or tunic out of an old blanket, scarf or top, make a cardboard shield and, hey presto, the Viking catwalk awaits.
  • The Annual Strongest Viking Competition, St Sampson’s Square Stage, February 22, 11am. Feats of endurance and strength abound as Viking competes against Viking to be proclaimed the strongest of York’s warriors.  Choose your champion and cheer them on.
Vikings on the march through York
  • The Bloodaxe Reading Challenge. Particularly good for local children, the challenge to read as many books as you can before the festival has been set up in association with Explore Libraries.  It gives the chance to win tickets to meet award-winning author Hilary Robinson as she launches her new book Jasper: Viking Dog at York Explore on February 12.
  • The Best Beard Competition, St Sampson’s Square Stage, February 22, 3pm. Beards of all description are welcome, from naturally grown to man-made, in a competition open to men, women, children and even dogs. Free entry, plus the chance to win prizes.
  • March to Coppergate, leaving from Dean’s Park, by York Minster, on February 22 at 1.30pm, when the city streets will be filled with Vikings of all ages, social status and profession as their war cries echo around the city centre. More than 200 Vikings are expected to march down to Coppergate, finishing at the Eye of York in a display of costume, weaponry and Viking style.  

Details of all the events at this year’s Jorvik Viking Festival can be found at jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk.

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2020 Jorvik Viking Festival is all talk in York next month. Here come the experts

Viking reproduction gold rings at the Jorvik Viking Festival

HORDES of Norse academics will descend on York during the 36th Jorvik Viking Festival, armed with fresh news of the Viking world.

During the February 15 to 23 festival run, lectures and talks will explore the concept of a single common European-wide market enjoyed by the Vikings, the remarkable voyage of replica ship The Viking and the latest discoveries at Trondheim.

The programme of talks has been compiled by Dr Chris Tuckley, head of interpretation for York Archaeological Trust.  “Jorvik Viking Festival is attended by Norse enthusiasts from around the world, from children getting their first taste of Viking culture, to academics who have devoted their lives to learning more about our Scandinavian ancestors,” he says.

“So, alongside the colourful hands-on events and presentations, we always host a series of talks and lectures that are accessible to a wide range of people, from enthusiastic amateur historians to leading names in the worlds of archaeology and research.”

Talks for 2020 include:

  • Home & Away: Fashion and identity in the Viking Age, presented by Dr Gareth Williams, of the British Museum, on February 18 at 7pm at the Jorvik Viking Centre.

This talk will explore how fashion varied across the Viking world, including how it fused with other styles as the Vikings explored the globe.  Tickets cost £25.

Here come the Vikings
  • The Helen Thirza Addyman Lecture by Chris McLees, archaeologist and researcher at Trondheim, a 10th century Viking trading settlement, on February 19 at 7pm at Fountains Lecture Theatre, York St John University. 

 This lecture will present the archaeology of this important place on the northern periphery of the Viking and medieval worlds, including the results of excavations at sites associated with the renowned late-Viking kings Olav Haraldsson (St Olav) and Harald Hardrada. Tickets are £10 for adults, £8 for concessions.

  • Looking for Jet in A Dark Place,  by Sarah Steele, consultant geologist for Whitby Museum, who explores the trade in black jet around the Viking world at the Jorvik Viking Centre on February 20 at 7pm.

The mineral of jet, which requires extreme global warming to form, was traded as far afield as Greenland, yet remains notoriously difficult to identify in the archaeological record.  Attendees will learn how modern technology may soon appreciate fully  the scope of Whitby Jet’s trade during the medieval period.  Tickets cost £25.

All of these events build up to the Richard Hall Symposium, closing the festival on February 23 in the De Grey Lecture Theatre at York St John University.

The theme of that day’s talks will be A Single Market for Goods and Services? , Travel and Trade in the Viking World, with experts including Professor Lesley Abrams, of Oxford University, Dr Gareth Williams, from the British Museum, Dr Jane Kershaw, of the School of Archaeology at Oxford University, and Maria Nørgaard, project leader at Vikinger på Rejse, Denmark. 

For more details on all the talks and presentations at the 2020 Jorvik Viking Festival, visit jorvikvikingfestival.co.uk.

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10 QUESTIONS FOR GREAT YORKSHIRE FRINGE DIRECTOR MARTIN WITTS

Martin Witts in happier times at the Great Yorkshire Fringe. Picture: Steve Ullathorne

THE comedy is over for the Great Yorkshire Fringe after five summers in York, blaming “city-centre management” for the decision to exit stage left.

In a formal statement, founder and director Martin Witts said: “Our experience of sponsoring, curating and managing an event in this small city of ours has led to the conclusion that until a well-managed and efficient is implemented, a festival of our size cannot thrive and does not have a place in York.”

Here Martin, who also runs the Leicester Square Theatre and Museum of Comedy in London, answers Charles Hutchinson’s questions.

1.What made you take this decision, Martin?

“My patience with all the red tape ran out of time. It was the same things every year, no matter what you try to do to address the most critical things on the Parliament Street village green site. Access. Drainage. The licence. Security.  What we were required to do changed every year.

“Right from the start, there were frustrations. We wanted to start the festival in 2014, but it took a year to get the licence from the city council for Parliament Street.”

2.What would constitute a “well-managed and efficient city-centre management”?

“The City of York Council, Make It York and York BID are all involved in how the city centre is run. Everyone has great intentions, but there are too many chiefs, not enough Indians, and it’s got too complicated. That’s the frustration.”

3.Sean Bullick, managing director of Make It York, says he would “welcome the opportunity to discuss options with you to bring the event back”. Will you have that discussion?

“I had a meeting with Sean and Charlie Croft [assistant director of communities and culture at City of YorkCouncil] last year to say this needs to be resolved, but we still had problems at last summer’s festival with the drainage provision for the toilets.”

4. Last summer, some people said the ticket prices were high; some reckoned the quality of the newer acts had lowered; others felt the same names kept returning.  Your thoughts?

“We had no complaints about the festival content or the programming or the pricing. There were no negative comments from patrons on our social media and in the box-office day book. Indeed, only positives. The average ticket price remained the same.

“But there was a drop in audience numbers certainly, when the Shakespeare’s Rose Theatre, running at the same time at the Castle car park, had an impact.”

5. Do festivals have a natural cycle, especially when the fickle world of comedy is prone to “the new rock’n’roll” going in and out of fashion?

“No, I disagree with that. Comedy always has a new audience and new acts. You only have to see the popularity of the New Comedian of the Year award we ran each year.

“Comedy is always changing, but people like to keep seeing their favourite comedian too.”

6.Emotionally, how do you feel about calling a halt to the Great Yorkshire Fringe after five years?

“I’m incredibly disappointed to be having to do this. You should see the messages I’ve had from the volunteers who worked for the Fringe saying it was the highlight of their career. It was the highlight of my career too.

“In an ideal world, if it had been easier, if there wasn’t the problem of the structure of the city-centre management, we would like to have continued the festival, but your patience runs out in the end when you want things to run smoothly.”

7. What did you achieve?

”We were committed to running the festival for five years and you hope that after those five years, you’ve covered your costs, broken even, and established yourself, which we had – and we proved Parliament Street could be a village green with shows and all the food and drink stalls.”

8. Would you consider taking the Great Yorkshire Fringe to another great Yorkshire city?

“No, absolutely not. I’m not planning to move it to Leeds. This festival was always designed for the city of York, the city where my family is from. York is the capital city of Yorkshire; the second city of the world.”

9. You say you will “continue to invest in the cultural scene of York”. In what ways will you do this?

“We’ll continue to do events in York, but not hold the festival, but do them in the spirit of the Great Yorkshire Fringe. We’ll probably have a year off but we’ll support The Arts Barge by doing a couple of things with them in York this summer.”

10. What else is happening in the world of Witts right now?

“We’re opening a scenery workshop in Pocklington, and I’ve bought the contents of the Goole Waterways Museum after it went into liquidation. We might look at doing something with antiquities and artefacts there.”