THE Rowntree Society and the Joseph Rowntree Theatre are joining forces for the York Residents Festival this weekend for guided walks and special films and tours of the Grade 11 listed theatre.

The Rowntree Society will lead a guided walk around the Haxby Road area to launch its latest book, Five Walks Of Rowntree York: From Chocolate Comes Change. The 20-minute walks will run on the hour, with the first walk setting off from the theatre at 11am each day, and visitors can pick up their free copy of the book at the Residents Festival event to find out about the other four walks in York.

In the JoRo theatre, the society will show two films commissioned and adapted for full screen with the 20-minute screenings starting on the half hour every hour from 10.30am each day.

The first film, Joseph Rowntree Retrospect, was created to mark the centenary of Joseph Rowntree’s admission into the Freedom of the City of York It contains parts of his acceptance speech and highlights the enormous changes brought about by City of York Council since Joseph’s childhood.

The accompanying Seebohm Rowntree Retrospect documents the life and work of Seebohm Rowntree, an innovator in business management and a pioneering social scientist whose work influenced the founders of the welfare state in Britain. Demonstrating the contemporary and visionary relevance of the Rowntree legacy today, this film is set to an atmospheric soundtrack by producer, DJ and electronic composer Floating Points.

In addition, the Rowntree Society will showcase their other recent work, including exhibitions and archive materials such as the Cocoa Works Magazine. Books and postcards will be for sale and visitors can acquire Rowntree-related items in a fundraising raffle.

The JoRo theatre’s volunteer staff will lead guided tours of the listed building, which opened in 1935, and visitors will have the chance to see technical equipment working. Archive material held by the theatre, illustrating its history and past productions from the 1930s to 2000s, will be on show, while adults and children can dress up in costumes that have graced York’s stages, with the support of costume specialist Dress Circle.

Tea and coffee will be available all day, served by theatre volunteers. Visitors to the event can take advantage of free parking on Haleys Terrace or on other street locations. Please note, there is no parking in the theatre grounds.

The Rowntree Society was founded in 2004 as a registered charity aiming to tell the story of the Rowntree family, their business, their passion for reform, and their legacy.

The society provides information on any aspect of the Rowntree legacy by means of educational resources, leadership and guidance. It does this mainly by means of a website, rowntreesociety.org.uk, walks, talks, film materials, and publications. Its core work on a day-to-day basis is to act as information point, facilitator and reliable authority on all things Rowntree and to ensure that the "Rowntree ethos" is kept in focus, especially for future generations.