The Piece Hall has a spectacular season of fun lined up for this summer including a Roller Disco and a Mela festival, which have never been experienced before at this unique venue. The summer programme is the most diverse and inclusive yet, with many of the events free to attend.
Other activities include everything from family fun days, fairground rides and free art workshops – through to a dance music weekender and Pride celebrations, meaning there truly is something for everyone over the coming months.
CEO of The Piece Hall Charitable Trust, Nicky Chance-Thompson DL, said:
“I’m incredibly proud of the programme we’ve put together this year. The range of events we’re hosting is just brilliant and so many of them are free to enter. This is really important to us as we appreciate the cost of living is a huge challenge to many families right now.
“The Piece Hall prides itself on being a real cultural hub for the whole community and I believe we are delivering that this summer. With the Mela, Pride, family fun days and artist-led craft sessions, as well as a high-energy weekend of dance music, there really is something for all the family. We can’t wait to welcome visitors from near and far to share the brilliant variety of entertainment we’ve got in store this summer at our incredibly special venue.”
Between 9 – 16 August, The Piece Hall will welcome the Roller Rink to the courtyard for the first time. On hand will be two professional skaters to get the novices moving and help more experienced skaters improve their skills. The rink will be open for advanced bookings from 10am – 8pm daily, and the Friday and Saturday night will see the rink turned into a Roller Disco for skaters who love to get their groove on while they move.
Saturday 27 August sees another major first as the venue proudly welcomes the organisers of the biggest South Asian music and culture festival in Europe to the courtyard for The Piece Hall Mela. The people behind Sandwell & Birmingham Mela are bringing the sights, sounds and spicy aromas of South Asia to Halifax, including music, dance, arts and crafts and family fun, to this free to enter event.
The summer season reaches a fabulous climax when Calderdale Pride comes to The Piece Hall on Saturday 3 September, from 12pm until 8pm. The courtyard will turn rainbow-coloured with eight hours of amazing entertainment, including a chart-topping pop group, tribute acts and queens of the drag scene.
The popular beach makes a return from 23 July – 1 August, when our giant courtyard will be transformed into a sandy beachfront complete with deckchairs, buckets & spades, a colourful beach hut, games, two carousel rides (charges apply), a peep-through display and giant deckchair for photo memories. The Sandy Summer Daze sessions have remained free of charge this year to ensure inexpensive days out are possible for local families.
To celebrate Yorkshire Day, local talent will be performing live music in the courtyard on Sunday 31 July and 1 August. 1 August also marks the fifth anniversary of The Piece Hall re-opening, and will see the return of the popular Piece Hall Game Show.
The popular Summer Makers Market also returns from 5 – 7 August, and will showcase some of the region’s favourite independent producers, artisan makers and pop-up street food. Featuring 36 unique stalls, everything from homeware, jewellery and gifts to delicious baked goods will be on offer to take home. There will be also be live music each day, from Brendan Mcmahon, Conor Joy or Eve Perkis, along with fairground rides.
Having performed at some of the world’s most exclusive events, festivals and nightclubs, and following two previous sell-out shows at The Piece Hall, Ellie Sax & Friends are here for an exclusive headline show on Friday 19 August as part of the House Weekender.
And on Saturday 20 August, Dale Castell will perform his Our House Summer Special! Guests include K-Klass with Bobbi, old school legends Dancing Divaz & Rob Tissera, along with the amazing Elara on Sax & Romi on Percussion.
Bank Holiday Monday will be a free day of traditional family fun with music, games and arts and crafts activities.
In addition to all this, all of The Piece Hall’s independent stores, bars and restaurants will be open as usual, and there will regular FREE drop in art and craft workshops throughout the summer led by respected local artists. These include making large cardboard sculptures with professional artist and sculptor Frank Darnley, inspired by the stunning architecture of The Piece Hall.
Sarah O‘Boyle will help attendees to create recycled outdoor decorations, such as woven leaf sculptures and nature wands. And a beautiful textile map of Calderdale will be created with the help of professional textile artist Samina Kaur. People are invited to help create the landmarks and animals that make our home so distinctive. Please check the website for full details of the arts and crafts events.