With less than a week to go until Yorkshire’s big day, people are being encouraged to line the streets of Halifax on Monday 1 August 2016 to see a 200-strong parade in the town centre as part of the Yorkshire Day celebrations.
Halifax is proud to have been chosen to host the county-wide celebrations this year, and amongst the events is a parade of Lord Mayors, Mayors and other Civic Heads from across Yorkshire.
The colourful parade will start from Halifax Town Hall at 10am and will pass through Crossley Street, Princess Street, Southgate Precinct, Wards End, Horton Street, Square Road and Church Street before finishing at Halifax Minster in time for a special Yorkshire Day service there at 11am. Afterwards, the dignitaries will attend a special Yorkshire Day lunch at the MBi Shay Stadium, with Angela Knowles, the original ‘Calendar Girl’, as the guest speaker.
People are welcome to wave their Yorkshire flags – available from Calderdale visitor centres – and cheer on the procession from the pavements, or simply watch the spectacle and listen to the lively music played by The LA Jazz Band, who are leading the parade.
Due to the number of people in the parade, there will be some temporary road closures to allow the parade to pass. On Monday 1 August, Crossley Street will be closed to traffic from 6am to 10.30am, and the remainder of the route will be on a rolling road closure. Calderdale Council has advised businesses along the route.
Businesses are also being encouraged to dress their premises with a Yorkshire theme. Why not take a look inside the Borough Market, which already looks fabulous with Yorkshire bunting cascading from the central clock.
Calderdale Council is flying the Yorkshire flag at Halifax Town Hall from sunrise to sunset to mark Yorkshire Day.
Cllr Howard Blagbrough, the Mayor of Calderdale, said:
“Monday 1 August is about celebrating all things Yorkshire, and preparations are well underway to make this a memorable occasion. The eyes of the county will be on Halifax for the civic events, so let’s make our town proud, put on a stunning spectacle and show everyone how great Halifax is by lining the streets and getting involved in all the exciting activities. And it’s the perfect way to keep youngsters entertained during the summer holidays.”
There are lots of activities for all the family in Calderdale’s museums and libraries.
On Saturday 30 July 2016 at 2pm, Bankfield Museum will hold a talk on George Walker’s book, ‘The Costumes of Yorkshire’, which was published in 1814.
Children can have a white rose painted on their face on Yorkshire Day, from 1pm –3pm at the Children’s Library in Halifax Central Library.
Young visitors to the Central Library (10.30am – 11.30am) and Brighouse Library (2pm – 3pm) can also make white roses, which will be used to decorate the building in true Yorkshire style.
Rod Dimbleby will be at Elland Library at 2pm on 1 August telling stories and reading poems in Yorkshire dialect.
‘Weird Yorkshire’ will be celebrated with a display at the Central Library and ‘Yorkshire and Proud of It’ collections will be on show at the Central Library and Hebden Bridge Library.
You could win a jar of Yorkshire Mixture by entering a competition to guess the number of sweets in the jar at Halifax Visitor Centre in the Central Library. It’s 50p a guess and all proceeds go to the Mayor of Calderdale’s charities, which this year are: Together for Looked After Children; The Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice and The Brighouse Rest Centre. The jar has been kindly donated by J. Dobson & Sons Ltd from Elland.
For more information on the activities taking place to mark Yorkshire Day, head to www.visitcalderdale.com(external link)
‘Like’ the Visit Calderdale Facebook page to see different Yorkshire sayings every day in the run up to 1 August.