12 months, over 550 events, 135 projects, 82 volunteers, over 1000 volunteer hours, more than 100,000 event participants and 50 years of Calderdale celebrated… the landmark Year of Culture has come to an end.
Calderdale’s Year of Culture programme launched in April 2024, to mark the borough’s 50th year.
And what an amazing birthday celebration it has been!
Calderdale Council’s CultureDale team is busy evaluating the impact that the Year of Culture has had, and the full data will be available in the coming months.
One thing is for sure, the programme has brought joy to the borough, as Cllr Durrans, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services and Communities, reflects:
“What a fantastic year we’ve had! The Year of Culture has wowed a diverse range of people from across the borough, country and even the world. It has showcased the talent, creativity and distinctiveness that make Calderdale special, it has strengthened relationships with communities, artists, performers and creative professionals, and has paved the way for culture to play an even bigger part in Calderdale’s future.
“With the CultureDale(external link) legacy set to stay beyond the end of April, culture in Calderdale doesn’t just stop there. There’s an amazing summer ahead, including festivals, fairs, the Piece Hall events programme, the English Chamber Orchestra’s Lark Ascending concert in June and another People’s Park Festival in August. Proof that Calderdale remains the place to be for culture, art and music!”
Just some of the Year of Culture highlights include:
- The People’s Park Festival – over 11,000 people enjoyed a weekend of cultural celebration, with music, film and food.
- Little Amal, the internationally acclaimed 12-foot puppet of a 10-year old refugee girl, which visited Halifax to bring a message of hope and to raise awareness of the experiences of refugees.
- The Anne Lister Memorial Weekend and the Anne Lister Birthday Festival, which welcomed visitors from as far as Australia and the USA to celebrate Calderdale’s famous diarist, landowner, businesswoman and lesbian.
- Happy Valley Pride festival, which brought famous drag acts, creative activities and community spirit to Calder Holmes Park in Hebden Bridge.
- The Starlight Parade, which dazzled Halifax with lights, music and performances to kick off the festive season in style.
- Northern Broadsides’ Iron People – an ambitious and imaginative community project celebrating Calderdale’s nature and creativity, culminating in a grand finale at Eureka! with puppet creatures and live music.
- Mr Wilson’s Opal’s Comet –a vivid, animated performance taking place on a boat, which also acted as a stage, navigating Calderdale’s heritage waterways over six days.
- The Tinker, Make, Create roadshows, showcasing children’s arts and crafts activities and culminating in a fantastic festival day at Eureka!
- The Annapurna Indian Dance and music festival at Dean Clough, Halifax, celebrating the rich splendour of Indian classical dances and music with ancient stories on the theme of ‘the world is one family’.
- The iconic ‘wet shirt’ worn by Colin Firth as Mr Darcy in the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice entered the Council’s costume collection and went on public display at Bankfield Museum.
- Todmorden Town Hall’s 150th anniversary celebrations, the transformation of the Victoria Theatre in Halifax and the release of Calderdale’s impressive tourism figures, showing an increase in visitor numbers and economic impacts.
- The CultureDale BEACONS project in Brighouse, Halifax and Todmorden – a series of striking light installations which were one of the last spectacles marking the grand finale of the Year of Culture.
Culture was at the heart of Calderdale’s 50th anniversary celebrations because it is one of the qualities that makes the borough so distinctive, and it plays a key role in local regeneration, wellbeing and the Council’s priorities for thriving towns and places, reduced inequalities and climate action.
The whole CultureDale programme featured locally-created events, festivals, exhibitions, performances and initiatives for everyone to enjoy from April 2024 to April 2025. The programme reflected Calderdale’s rich history, amazing landscapes, incredible people, creativity, entrepreneurship, talent and diversity.
It was funded by Calderdale Council, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, Arts Council England, National Lottery Heritage Fund and UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Visit www.culturedale.co.uk(external link) and www.visitcalderdale.com(external link) for information and inspiration on how to experience culture in Calderdale.