The event is being organised by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) and is being held to mark the 100th anniversary of Joseph Rowntree’s death.
Joseph Rowntree founded JRF in 1904 and for the last 121 years the charity have been working tirelessly to provide more social housing and tackle the root causes of poverty across the UK.
To say the charities status has grown over the years would be an understatement. Alongside having an office in York, the not-for-profit also have HQs based in London and Glasgow.
However, the charity have never forgotten their roots – they first began in York. With this in mind, JRF are set to host a free festival in the northern city this weekend. The event is due to take place in Homestead Park and will be completely free to attend. What’s more, all the activities, which can be found here, are also free.
Some of the activities include interactive storytelling from a range of street performers and puppeteers and a performance from the unique theatre show ‘TRUTH!’ – a co-production between outdoor arts troublemakers Ramshacklicious and inclusive theatre makers Hijinx.
The festival, which is called ‘Homestead Park Festival: Here is Hope’, is set to open its doors at 10am on Saturday 5th July and go on until 8pm. On Sunday it also opens at 10am but is due to close at an earlier time of 6pm.
‘We are so excited to bring this incredible event to the park and to the people of York for free,’ Sophie Howard, JRF community engagement lead for Homestead Park, said. ‘Festivals like this are usually pretty expensive, which makes them inaccessible to many people in our local community – especially at the moment.
‘But we wanted to make sure we created a festival that wouldn’t cost people a penny. The Rowntree family gave Homestead Park to this community at a time when many local people were struggling financially. We are honouring that legacy with the Homestead Park Festival – a gift to the people of York in the year we are marking the centenary of Joseph Rowntree’s death.’
Homestead Park was given to the city of York in 1904 by Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree, the son of Joseph Rowntree and is now managed by the charity.
Liz Pickering, deputy CEO at Wild Rumpus – a partner of the event – added: ‘At Wild Rumpus we’re all about connecting people through play and creativity in the great outdoors, so we’re thrilled to be creating this beautiful event in Homestead Park alongside JRF.
‘It’s going to be such an inspiring weekend celebrating York’s incredible communities and looking at how we can work towards a better future together. We hope people will bring the whole family, spend the day listening to live music, taking part in workshops together, and leave feeling inspired.’
Photo by Karl Moran via UnSplash
In related news:
Leave a Reply