ORGANISERS of York's summer Pride event, the Wagon Plays and a new community cinema are to receive a share of a £50,000 fund designed to support events in 2022.

Fifteen organisations in York will benefit from the extra support to help cover the costs of staging activities which were unable to go ahead in 2020 and, or 2021 due to the Covid crisis, as well as new events and festivals.

The new events and festivals grant scheme aims to help organisations hit by the pandemic who are now unable to cover the overall costs of activities themselves.

The £50k grant funding comes from the Government’s ARG fund, and is provided by City of York Council to Make It York.

Among the 15 events and festivals who have been awarded funding is York LGBT+ Pride whose summer Pride event on June 18 provides the main platform for a celebration of the diversity of the LGBT+ community through entertainment, inclusivity and fun.

Another recipient is the 2022 Wagon Plays, organised by York Mystery Plays, which will be staged in outdoor locations across the city from June 19 to 26 June.

York Mystery Plays are a unique part of York’s literary and cultural heritage and allow hundreds of local people to engage with their own history.

York Mediale 2022 Events have also won support. Funding will support a programme of events at York Art Gallery from June 24 to September 18, and in November.

These include the Body Vessel Clay exhibition and the Immersive Assembly, Mediale’s international artist development programme, in collaboration with the city of Viborg in Denmark, a fellow UNESCO Creative City of Media Arts.

Meanwhile, Operation Hummingbird, organised by Next Door But One CIC, will be staged in August with support from the fund.

This new play by Next Door But One explores loss, love, terminal illness and anticipatory grief.

Grant funding is also going to The Wilberforce Trust to support two community fixtures – the return of its annual Christmas Fayre in December and a new summer fayre in August.

The events will include old style village fayres, with sideshow stalls, fairground type games, craft stalls, food, silent auction and a raffle.

All events will receive support from Visit York membership, to ensure that their event is as far reaching as possible.

Helen Apsey, head of culture and wellbeing at Make It York, said: “We received a high number of applications, of a very high standard, for the Events and Festivals Grants Scheme, and we're delighted to be supporting 15 incredible initiatives with this funding.

"It's a really broad, vibrant and diverse mix of events and festivals, which support local communities and residents, the local economy, and the aims of the York Culture Strategy.

"It's been a really difficult few years for people, and these events will give residents the chance to re-engage with their city, to take part in new activities, and to celebrate and enjoy the diverse range of events and festivals happening in York this year, as well as attracting visitors to support the local economy.

"Many events and festivals have been severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, couldn't take place as planned, or had to be cancelled altogether - and it's still impacting organisers' ability to fund the overall costs of events activity now.

"We're really grateful to City of York Council for making this grants funding available from its Additional Restrictions Grant Allocation, to help us support so many events and festivals in York. Crucially, this funding will also enable many of these initiatives to become more sustainable in future years."

The fund is to be delivered in consultation with the executive members for culture & communities and economy & strategic planning, supporting York’s economic recovery. 

Other events include: 

  • A new regular community cinema with a weekend of films every quarter is coming to York. 

Groves Community Cinema, organised by Theatre@41, will show topical films relevant to the lived experiences of the local community, films from the Yorkshire Film Archive, and a more accessible and affordable cinema environment for young people. 

  • York Design Week, an annual city-wide festival by Kaizen Arts Agency CIC of events, workshops, talks, exhibitions, and performances, will this year focus on what design means and how it can offer innovative solutions. 
  • Making Moves (previously Dance It Up North) organised by York Dance Space (October 2022): Making Moves is a community dance production which brings together the diverse communities of York and North Yorkshire to perform at York Theatre Royal.
  • York Unlocked CIC: Discover interesting buildings that are usually difficult to access with York Unlocked. Visitors will have the opportunity to take a look around famous York buildings including Herbert House, St Williams College, The Guildhall, Kings Manor, Old Archbishops Palace, Bootham School, De Grey Rooms, Lodge Duncombe Place, Hudson Quarter, Monk Bar, Chapel St Johns Uni and more.
  • BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival organised by Aesthetica Magazine: The BAFTA-Qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival will screen new films across 12 venues in the city centre this November and provides education and learning opportunities, as well as access to new film and high-profile speakers.  
  • The Yorkshire Schools Dance Festival: open to all primary and secondary schools, colleges, further education providers and community dance companies across Yorkshire. More than 1000 participants will create and perform fresh choreography in a large-scale venue, as well as taking part in workshops and watch performances by professional dance companies.
  • SLAP York Showcase organised by SLAP York, includes four creative workshops and a showcase of brand-new work created by artists living in the city. There’ll be live performances, including one to one experiences, durational work and participatory performance.
  • Poetry For All, organised by Stairwell Books / York Spoken Word, welcomes newcomers and regulars to join their poetry and prose open mic, which has been going for over 16 years. Offering a platform to disabled poets, they were the first UK event BSL signed with poems also PowerPointed in an accessible venue.
  • Christmas Folk at the NCEM, organised by The York Early Music Foundation, will showcase three traditional/folk concerts taking place at the NCEM in December 2022. 
  • ''The Shambles Saved Christmas!,'' organised by Thunk-It Theatre Ltd, is a one person, family theatre performance, written to showcase the famous Shambles Market in York city centre, whilst celebrating festive cheer. There’ll also be opportunities to take part in crafting sessions, including make your own festive decorations.  

Councillor Darryl Smalley, executive member for culture, leisure and communities, said: “It’s great to see so many worthy events and causes receiving this latest financial boost.

“The ARG fund has previously supported safe, large-scale events across the city, such as Jorvik Viking Festival, York Food and Drink Festival, York Design Week and Aesthetica Film Festival.

"I look forward to the recipients of this latest set of funding use it to boost York’s exciting event scene, offering even more for residents and visitors to look forward to.”

Alan Park, Chair at Theatre@41, said: “The ARG Events and Festival grant will allow us to launch Theatre@41's Groves Community Cinema, providing our local residents with a relaxed, affordable and accessible cinema that allows the community to connect with one another and provide some with their first visit to a theatre.

"Without this money we would not have been able to launch the cinema. Now the Groves and the wider York community can benefit from this event for years to come.”