On Monday we reflected on some of our favourite hostel events from the last two years. Today, we’re continuing our birthday week with a look at some of the best events we’ve ever attended…outside the hostel’s four walls! So here goes…
- What a Drag 2! (2016)
Imagine the scene…it’s the first day of July, the height of the British summer and the hostel is getting into the groove of its first season. Our friends at Live Art Bistro were preparing for the “after party of the year”, What a Drag 2, which was the place to be seen after Leeds’ Big Disco / Little Disco event.
Hosted in association with East Street Arts, What a Drag was the second event of its kind, with performances, flamboyant fancies and glitter galore! A group of us donned our glad rags and headed off to the LAB pink door for a night of drag, devastatingly good looks and a little bit of debauchery. Some of the glitter is still embedded in the floor of room 3 too! It was certainly one of our highlights of hostel life so far.
- Carnival (2017)
The colour. The joy. The feathers. The sequins. The dancing. Last year was the 50th anniversary of Leeds West Indian Carnival and it certainly celebrated in style. With exhibitions and events across the city throughout 2017, the carnival is an obvious addition to our list of events we’ve attended.
We loved the celebration at Union 105 which is prime position for carnival festivities. We had an awesome BBQ in the perfect sunny weather and our lovely volunteer, Gonzalo even played in a Samba band as part of the parade.
It’s a hostel memory we’re unlikely to forget any time soon.
- Transform Festival (2016)
Transform calls itself “a festival of bold local and international theatre”. It seemed only fitting, therefore, for our volunteers, who come to us from across the world, to be a part of it.
It was around the time of the referendum in 2016 and with many volunteers coming from across Europe, it was a hot topic in the reception of the hostel for weeks. Brexit was still a very new term, but many of the people here had views to share.
What better way to do that than through a piece of theatre? We filled in our application forms, answering questions about family history and our views on Europe. What resulted was Guerrilla, young artists talking about Europe. We went to rehearsals and organised costumes, overcame nerves and then it was show time.
We’ve seen our volunteers boogie in reception and it’s a very different thing to see them in a theatre with professional lighting. It was fantastic to be part of the performance at West Yorkshire Playhouse; it really gave us a buzz!
- Compass Festival – Personal Shopper: Cornucopia and WARMTH (2016)
Another throwback to 2016, Compass Festival was a major highlight for us. Personal Shopper: Cornucopia was a culmination of a three year project from Katie Etheridge and Simon Persighetti, who stayed at the hostel with us during the festival.
We love Leeds Kirkgate Market. It’s just up the road and we always get our ingredients for Tuesday Teas from there. We direct guests there to have a wander around too. We recommend that markets should be top of any traveller’s list – they’re such vibrant places, full of independent traders.
Personal Shopper explored and celebrated the relationships between shoppers, traders and goods in the market. They had great tote bags too (who doesn’t love a tote bag).
A special mention to Bethany Wells who hosted the WARMTH sauna at the hostel during the festival too!
1. Come Find Us (always!)
We love art…you may have guessed this from our name…but we make it our mission to champion the Leeds art scene. Come Find Us is a fantastic event which East Street Arts has been involved with from the start. Run by our friend, Emma, it should be in your diary every single month!
The Come Find Us tour snakes around Mabgate, highlighting some of the creative (often hidden) activities taking place in the neighbourhood. From Lady Beck to Patrick Studios, there’s so much to see and get involved with.
It’s hard to pick one Come Find Us that was better than the rest so we’re toasting to them all. From the time we ventured out in the snow and happened upon a dance hall moves taster from Koby Dance to the open mic performance art night at LAB. We’ll see you there in June, yeh?