The YorkLife festival will showcase local talent in the city, including musicians, performers, comedians and much more! YorkLife is taking place on Saturday 2nd & Sunday 3rd April between 11 am and 9 pm on Parliament Street, York
There will be over 30 acts and musicians at the festival and interactive workshops for you to enjoy!
Headliners include Huge, who have been playing across York for 30 years, and they will be playing on Saturday night.
The Howl & The Hum will be closing the festival on Sunday night! They will headline the main ‘YorkLive’ stage which will host a programme of music curated by York’s Music Venue Network. It will showcase local artists including Bull, Kitty VR, Flatcap Carnival, Hyde Family Jam and many more!
There will be lots of interactive sessions from local organisations such as instrumental workshops, theatre workshops, face painting, dance performances and comedy acts. There will also be fire performers and local circus acts to add a real festival feel to York this spring!
The main stage is on Parliament Street and an open viewing area will hold 500 people. There will also be a stretch tent for a York Gin bar and seating area which holds 90 people on a one-in-one-out basis.
Here is the full line up…
Saturday 2nd April – Workshops:
11.00 – 11.45: Drumming with Mark Barfoot– A fun and inclusive drumming session for children and families using a mixture of djembe drums and hand percussion.
12.00 – 12.45: Storytelling with Mud Pie Arts – Meet Jenna, author of Cloud Tales, as you hear stories of lonely dragons and desperate dogs mixed with plenty of dressing up and fun improvisation activities.
13.00 – 13.45: Thunk-it Theatre – Explore the process of creating your own dream city through drama, singing and crafting, perfect for anyone aged 4-11.
14.00 – 14.45: York Wire Skylines with Gemma Wood York – Join Gemma Wood, a York-based visual artist, as you’re immersed and transformed into the depths of your curiosity.
15.00 – 15.45: YorkMix Quiz – Ben and Laura will be bringing their much-loved Game Wheel live to YorkLife, giving you a chance to win some incredible prizes.
16.00 – 16.45: The Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts – A fun taster session for young budding singers, dancers, actors or filmmakers in this PQA session.
17.00 – 17.45: The JORVIK Viking Takeover – A 45-minute interactive presentation about various aspects of Viking life in the 10th century.
18.15 – 19.45: Burning Duck Comedy Club Presents – Stepping out of The Crescent, Burning Duck Comedy brings you 90 minutes of Live, back-to-back comedy.
Sunday 3rd April – Workshops:
11.00 – 11.45: York Wire Skylines with Gemma Wood – Join Gemma Wood, a York-based visual artist, as your immersed and transformed into the depths of your curiosity.
12.00 – 12.45: Ukulele Workshop with Christian Topman – Join Christian Topman, co-founder of the arts barge project and bass player, to learn how to play fun tunes on the Ukulele.
13.00 – 13.45: Thunk-It Theatre – Explore the process of creating your own dream city through drama, singing and crafting, perfect for anyone aged 4-11.
14.00 – 14.45 York Festival of Ideas – Prepare to be inspired as you enjoy a preview of York Festival of Ideas, one of the largest free festivals of its kind in the UK. From mind-reading to crime and punishment, and the bass guitar to plasma, don’t miss a range of interactive talks.
15.00 – 15.45: Say Owt Poetry Workshop – Meet Henry Raby, a York-based performance poet, as he teaches you how to make quick and fun poetry and become craftier with your words.
16.00 – 16.45: Beatboxing with Matty Groove – In this exclusive workshop, Matty will share his knowledge and secret techniques into the unusual art of beatbox.
17.00 – 18.00 – London Magician and Card Reader, Chris Wall – Be amazed with a 60-minute performance from Chris Wall and his mind-reading magic!
18.15 – 19.45: Say Owt Back-to-Back Performance – Say Owt present a back-to-back poetry slam from their collective of ‘gobby northern poets’.
There’ll also be all-day face painting across the weekend with Fantastic Faces, whose expert team of face and body artists are providing a series of face painting, body painting and henna from 11:00 to 17:00.
‘Circus Workshops’ are also taking place throughout the weekend, including fun skill-building challenges such as unicycling, juggling and various other fun circus skills. A great family-friendly way to share moments and build memories.
The main YorkLive Stage on Parliament Street will be showcasing live music by talented local artists from afternoon to evenings, as curated by York’s Music Venue Network. The full YorkLive programme includes:
Saturday 2nd April – Live Music:
14:30 – Marnie Glum
15.30 – Pennine Suite
16.30 – Wounded Bear
17.30 – Flatcap Carnival
18.30 – Kitty VR
19.30 – HUGE
Sunday 3rd April – Live Music:
15.00 – Bargestra
16.00 – Floral Pattern
17.00 – Hyde Family Jam
18.00 – Trueman & The Indoor League
19.00 – Bull
20.00 – The Howl & The Hum
There’ll also be two dance flashmobs taking place on Sunday, courtesy of the Big City Flashmob and York Dance Space. Learn the choreography on the YorkLive stage at 12:00 on Sunday to be able to take part in either of the two flashmobs on Parliament Street at 12.45 or St Helen’s Square at 13.30. There’s also a tutorial video to learn the moves here.
No, there is no need to book tickets in advance and this is a FREE open event! YorkLife is being organised by Make It York with support from the City of York Council’s ARG funding.
The programme of events for YorkLife has been curated for York residents and to support the city’s recovery from Covid.
Check out our Events Calendar which we keep up to date with all the family-friendly events happening in and around York.
🎶 We think it sounds like a really fun and family-friendly free York event so we hope to see you at the YorkLife Festival in April! 🎶
