Today marks 100 days until the Grand Depart of the 2014 Tour de France in Leeds on July 5. With three stages being held in the UK, two of which are in Yorkshire, 2014 promises to be a bumper year for British cycling. And Yorkshire is really pulling out the stops for the start of the world’s greatest cycling race, which will be accompanied for the first time by an artistic and cultural festival. Here’s our choice of the top 10 things to see at the Yorkshire Festival which begins today.
The Tour of Infinite Possibility
Touring from now until June 22
Local band Hope and Social have written the theme tune for the festival but they are also putting on this tour – the aim of which is to come up with a band they draw from members of the public along the way. Gigs are on a pedal-powered stage that will tour in March and April, followed by workshops between April and June and four days of concerts with the final band on June 7 and 8 and June 21 and 22.
See festival.yorkshire.com
Kes at the Crucible
Until April 5
Crucible Theatre, Sheffield
Barry Hines’ classic tale about a boy who befriends a wild kestrel hawk comes to the Crucible stage in a new dance-theatre performance.
See sheffieldtheatres.co.uk
Sheffield Steel Peloton
Until July 5
Various venues
Another long-term collaboration project, the Sheffield Steel Peloton will bring together artists, archaeologists, event organisers, scientists, film-makers and the public to create a bike from iron mined and forged into steel in Sheffield. There’ll be the chance to see everything from smelting to blacksmithing and the science behind bikes. Visit with your own bike and get it decorated. A film will be made of the tour.
See sheffieldsteelpeloton.com
Yorkshire Made Me
March 29-June 1
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield
This photography exhibition by Jennifer Robertson and Lynne Fletcher highlights Yorkshire men and women who have reached the height of their careers. The exhibition includes images of Brian Robinson, who became the first Briton to win a stage of the Tour de France in 1958, Dame Judi Dench, David Hockney (above) Michael Palin and Nicola Adams.
See ysp.co.uk
The Grand Departs
Mytholmroyd
April 5
How many cyclists does it take to pull a grand piano up a hill? This event attempts to find out as a team of Calverdale cyclists attempts to get the piano up Cragg Vale which, at six miles, is the longest gradient in the UK. It’s not just the piano they have to pull either… amateur and professional pianists will be playing it along the way.
See imovearts.co.uk
Fantastical Cycle Parade
Todmorden
April 12 to 26
Head to Todmorden in April where magnificent men (and women) will be creating new cycling machines. There will be workshops earlier in the month where you can adapt your bike before a grand parade on April 26 sees giant puppets built onto various bicycle parts take to the streets.
See handmadeparade.co.uk
Wish You Were Here
Grassington
Until June 21
In the early part of the 20th century, a chap called Cecil Sharp would cycle around the north collecting traditional folk songs along the way – his work led to a folklore revival that stopped many songs and dances from dying out. Now for 2014, songwriters are being asked to answer the following question in song: “what would you tell a travelling visitor about your community?” Events will take place in Grassington, Pateley Bridge, Selby, Helmsley, Botton, Easingwold and Reeth before a grand finale concert on June 21 in Grassington.
See grassington-festival.org.uk/wish/
Ghost Peloton
The Tetley, Leeds
May 16-17
Now this one is a tough one to explain, so bear with us. A Ghost Peloton of cyclists will join up with dancers from the Phoenix Dance Theatre to wear bespoke LED light suits that will change colours, flash-rates and luminosity as the Peloton changes course. It promises to be spectacular.
See nvaspeedoflight.org.uk/ghostpeloton
The Last Train to Scarborough
Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough
May 30-June 14
This crime thriller set 100 years ago on the streets of the seaside town will come to the stage featuring original music, a cast of Yorkshire actors, and film sequences shot on location at the National Railway Museum.
See sjt.uk.com
Festival of Colour Space and Light
Sheffield
July 3-6
This inflatable light installation will feature 25 light-filled domes with colourful projections and live performances by local bands.
See sheffieldcathedral.org
For the full festival run down see http://festival.yorkshire.com/
For more on Le Grand Depart and the Tour de France in Yorkshire see letour.yorkshire.com
