A MAJOR York-based event aims to bring entertainment, inspiration and excitement to the business community across the whole of Yorkshire.

Venturefest Yorkshire, which comes to York Racecourse in just over a fortnight’s time, is this year not just a city-based celebration but embraces a much wider area .

Having been staged by York Professionals for the previous 12 year, it is now being organised by Make It York and sponsored by national government agency Innovate UK.

This year’s one-day festival, taking place on Wednesday, November 16, will focus on nurturing business growth across the region and looks to bring investors, innovators and entrepreneurs together in an engaging, exciting and entertaining environment.

By helping innovators develop their ideas and supporting entrepreneurs in securing investment, Venturefest Yorkshire aims to inspire and entertain delegates through talks from experts in their field, and with workshops and exhibitions.

There are also two competitions, Pitchfest and the Innovation Showcase,with cash prizes for the winning venture.

Heather Niven, head of Science City York, stressed the wider scope of this year’s event, saying: “This year’s Venturefest Yorkshire will represent innovation and entrepreneurialism from across the whole region, through our 20-strong Innovation Showcase finalists, Pitchfest competition finalists and 100 exhibitors.

“In addition to the exhibition, we have programmed lively and interesting talks covering a massive range of exciting topics, including block chain innovation, the world’s first ‘green fab lab’, and the future of technology, to name a few.

“Our speakers include the head of the RSA, BBC Click presenter Kate Russell and the founder of Red5 (formerly of the Gadget shop) Jonathan Elvidge.

“Rather than a formal dinner we will be ending the day with an exciting end-of-day show and some networking over curry and a beer. The event is set to entertain, leave you inspired and excited about the future possibilities of doing better business in Yorkshire.”

Dermot Boylan, project manager for Venturefest Yorkshire, said: “We have put together an action-packed day that is designed to be thought-provoking, stimulating and entertaining.” This included eight keynote speakers, more than 70 exhibitors, eight seminars, 16 ‘meet the expert’ sessions, two Google Digital Garage sessions and two Sky master-classes.

The initial 48 Yorkshire-based Pitchfest entrants have been whittled down to five finalists, who will be compete in the live finals for a £5,000 cash prize and a package of business growth support.

The five Pitchfest finalists are: Rocket Horse Ltd (Kwizzbit), Mark Walsh, Leeds, with a cross-network interactive pub quiz played using a smart phone or smart device; Clearsky Medical Diagnostics, Dr Stephen Smith, Cottingham,which specialises in medical devices for the diagnosis and monitoring of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and a range of other neurodegenerative conditions; Myroo Skincare, Rachael Dunseath, Harrogate,with a totally ‘free from’ skincare brand, whose products are natural, organic and vegan and free from all 14 food allergens, for those with sensitive skin; Desi High Street, Kuljit Thiaray, Leeds, an online marketplace for businesses and retailers who sell ethnic/desi/South Asian goods; and Supply Box, Chloe Mortimer, Bradford, an online platform matching schools with high-quality, fully vetted supply teachers.

A record entry level for the Innovation Showcase has resulted in 20 early-stage businesses being selected to promote their ideas and to hopefully grab the attention of investors.

James Newman, chair of the Venturefest organising committee, urged the investment community to get behind the event. He said: “This year Venturefest Yorkshire will have a real creative buzz about it, with some fantastic new ideas and innovations, a real opportunity for the investor community to spot some great businesses for the future.”

Those attending the event can also enjoy free sessions with financial and skills advisors, master-classes led by Google and Sky and the DIT touring export hub. The Export Hub will bring together advice and practical guidance for all businesses on how they can find customers overseas for their products and services.

“As well as it being a very valuable day for business people, we also want to make it an entertaining day with the emphasis on ‘festival’,” said Mr Boylan, “We have created a mock-up elevator for real, live ‘elevator pitches’, we have someone demonstrating a ‘smart’ stable for horses and, to close the day off, we’ll be serving curry and beer with some rather innovative entertainment.

“We have worked hard to ensure that Venturefest Yorkshire 2016 is relevant to the whole of Yorkshire and we hope that as many people as possible invest a day in what is a fresh and exciting programme. It’s certainly not to be missed.” For information and tickets go to venturefestyorkshire.net