What To Do This Weekend
Pantos, puds and tipi tipples - it's all going on this weekend
Be Our Guest
Step into the fictional French town of Chester-le-Rue at Gala Durham’s pantomime-style reimagining of the classic tale, Beauty and the Beast. Join Belle and her eccentric, pantomime-dame auntie Madame Perplexe as they venture into the cursed castle where objects come to life, rumoured to be inhabited by a hideous beast. Expect plenty of laughs with classic pantomime humour, brilliant songs, dazzling costumes and, most of all, a guaranteed fun time that’ll have you thoroughly entertained. The shows runs from Thursday 21st November until Tuesday 31st December.
Tipi Tipples
Now that we’ve had our first snowfall (albeit it a slightly underwhelming one) there’s no excuse not to get into the Christmas spirit, and nothing gets us feeling festive quite like an Alpine tipi bar, complete with roaring fires and live music. Newcastle Christmas Market has returned to Monument, and with it returns Moosenwirt Alpine Bar, with its giant yurt and log wood bar. Serving up mulled wine and boozy hot chocolate, you can even rent out a luxury igloo pod to enjoy with friends. You can also grab food from the market to eat while you drink – exciting additions this year include Yorkshire pudding wraps and Crumble Pots, who offer a selection of customisable crumbles with a choice of fillings and toppings. Further north in Northumberland, The Tempus’ Alpine Tipi is now open every Friday and Saturday. They’ve added a festive twist to their wood-fired pizza menu and are serving Christmassy cocktails to be enjoyed around the fire pit. In York, Thor’s Tipi have returned to the Museum Gardens where their exciting drinks menu includes hot toffee cider, a chocolate orange cocktail and Bailey’s hot chocolate, plus tasty hot dogs and loaded fries from Yuzu.
Singing Sensation
Join Yorkshire’s sweetheart Jane McDonald for the spectacular grand finale of her With All My Love tour. This Friday, Jane will perform at Leeds’ First Direct Arena, singing songs we love as well as new, self-penned material. She’s an absolute national treasure, so don’t miss this chance to see her.
Alnwick Advent
Christmas begins in Alnwick this weekend, and we couldn’t be more ready. The Christmas lights switch-on, introduced by the Duchess of Northumberland, will commence at 7pm on Friday 22nd, preluded by live music. After the switch-on, Santa will arrive in his sleigh. On Saturday 23rd, the Alnwick Christmas market will run in the town square and in the evening, Spark Drummers will provide entertainment. To make a weekend of it in Alnwick, head to The Alnwick Garden on Sunday to see their spectacular Winter Lights trail and meet Father Christmas at Lilidorei.
Brilliant Books
The 12th annual Books on the Tyne Festival starts this weekend, beginning on Saturday 23rd. With a stellar programme of events, the festival will be hosted at one of Newcastle’s most beautiful buildings, the Lit & Phil, and there really is something for everyone. From a talk on the history of Tyne and Wear Metro from Metroland author Keith Watson, to an improvised plot created live by seven Northern crime writers, this is a true celebration of all the literary talent in the North East. The festival runs until Saturday 30th, so be sure to check out what’s on.
Festive Feasting
Leeds’ longest-running street food event, Belgrave Feast, will return to Belgrave Music Hall this Saturday 23rd with a very festive special event. Expect a whole host of tasty street food traders alongside DJs and live jazz music, plus crafts for kids. They’re also dog friendly, so pups can join in on the fun.
Proof is in the Pudding
Have some foresight this weekend and make your Christmas pudding – after all, it is Stir-up Sunday. Dating back to Victorian times, Stir-up Sunday is the final Sunday before advent begins, and was traditionally the day when families would gather to make the Christmas pudding. This year it falls on Sunday 24th and this traditional Christmas pudding recipe from The Lord Crewe Bamburgh is easy to make and guaranteed to be a hit. Once made, store in a cool, dry place until Christmas Day and serve with lashings of brandy sauce.
