The Great Yorkshire Show - a countryside showcase held at Harrogate's Great Yorkshire Showground - has been running for over 150 years. The packed programme features show-jumping, pole-climbing, marching bands and cattle parades.
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Jul 2013 (annual)
The Tockwith and District Show provides a wealth of rural entertainment every August. Visitors can wander around a vast display of trade stands, livestock exhibits and craft stalls in the Great Yorkshire Showground at Harrogate.
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Aug 2013 (annual)
The Harrogate Spring Flower Show, held at the Great Yorkshire Showground, is the year's premier spring horticultural event. It features nurseries, garden designers and craftsmen offering gardening accessories, rural arts and crafts and fine country food.
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Apr 2013 (annual)
The Knitting and Stitching Show at the Harrogate International Centre comprises almost 300 exhibiting companies selling a galaxy of products for knitting, sewing, embroidery, quilting and crochet. Contemporary and historic exhibits, workshops and lectures complete the programme.
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Nov 2013 (annual)
Harrogate's annual Summer Festival encompasses live classical, jazz and global music performances, held at venues throughout the town. It has attracted leading international performers such as BB King, Dionne Warwick and Wynton Marsalis, as well as talented newcomers.
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Jul 2013 (annual)
The Royal Pump Room Museum in Harrogate pays homage to a time when 15,000 visitors a year would flock to the town's wells to sip a glass of sulphur water, revealing the history of the town and how it became the European spa, popular with royals, politicians and fashionable socialites.
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Daily
Just outside Harrogate, garden lovers can immerse themselves in floral heaven at the Royal Horticultural Society Garden Harlow Carr, themed to reflect the trends of gardening in the past 200 years.
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Daily
The North East of England's rich canine heritage is reflected in Darlington Championship Dog Show, held at Newby Hall, near Ripon. The event caters for all people interested in the world of pedigree dogs. Stalls sell goods with a canine theme.
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Sep 2013 (annual)
Organised and undertaken by a team of experienced and committed non-professionals, Wetherby Festival fuses amateur and professional performances of drama, music and theatre. This year's event again features exciting entertainment from eclectic local and national talents.
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Oct 2013 (annual)
The Great Yorkshire Bike Ride is an annual charity ride from Wetherby to Filey. Riders cover 70 miles on scenic, Yorkshire country roads in aid of projects including Heart Research UK and Martin House Children's Hospice.
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Jun 2013 (annual)
Just beyond Alwoodley, on the edge of Leeds, Harewood House is a vast estate with a beautifully furnished 18th-century stately home, a superb art collection and fascinating exhibition on servant life. It's set in landscaped grounds perfect for country walks.
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Apr - Oct 2013 (annual)
One of Leeds' most magnificent stately homes, Harewood House hosts the White Rose Winter Music Festival. A fusion of opera, West End-inspired performances and a night at the proms, each night presents a different genre in a magnificent Georgian setting.
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Nov 2013 (annual)
The 800-year-old Cistercian Fountains Abbey is Britain's largest ruin and one of Yorkshire's most visited attractions. It includes the grand Elizabethan mansion, Fountains Hall, and 18th-century Studley Royal Water Garden.
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Daily
The younger twin sister of the Reading Festival, the Leeds Festival takes place at Branham Park every August Bank Holiday weekend. Entertaining crowds of thousands since the 1960s, past headliners here have included The Cure, Kasabian and the Foo Fighters.
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Aug 2013 (annual)
Bramham Park stages an international four-day event, with some of the world's top horse riders taking part in a gruelling test of skill and stamina. Competitors leap ditches, negotiate water obstacles and perform in the dressage and showjumping fields.
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Jun 2013 (annual)
One of the UK's premier festivals, the Leeds Festival returns to Bramham Park, Wetherby with guitar-heavy rock spread across six stages. This year promises to be a sun-drenched sonic inferno with some of the world's biggest rock acts taking part.
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Aug 2013 (annual)
Tropical World at Roundhay Park is one of the UK's most popular garden attractions, with a large collection of tropical plants. It also has home-from-home environments for fascinating birds, butterflies and exotic animals like meerkats.
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Daily
It almost feels like stepping into a Bollywood movie every summer at the Roundhay Park when the Leeds Asian Festival takes place. Live Bhangra performances and the smell of spices fill the air as thousands crowd here to extol multiculturalism.
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Sep 2013 (annual)
The exquisite Thai cooking at Sukhothai in the Chapel Allerton neighbourhood has long been acclaimed as some of Yorkshire's finest food. The authentic dining experience is enhanced by impeccable, attentive service, a calm yet bustling atmosphere, tasteful décor and modest prices. The restaurant has opened a second branch in Headingley.
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Daily; not Mon
Although it's famous for fish and chips, Bryan's Fish Restaurant, in the busy leisure area of Headingley, is no ordinary "chip shop". One of Leeds' favourite and longest-established fish and seafood restaurants, it also offers a range of delicious traditional fresh fish dishes, followed by classic English puddings, in a convivial modern setting.
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Daily
Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds is one of Britain's best preserved abbeys. Built between 1152 and 1182 on the northern bank of the River Aire, the Abbey was originally home to a community of Cistercian monks and lay brothers.
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Daily
Salvo's is a traditional Italian restaurant, pizzeria, café and salumeria (Italian delicatessen) in Headingley. The lively eatery attracts a convivial crowd to enjoy authentic fresh pasta, meat, fish and seafood dishes, with a few English favourites for the less adventurous. Welcoming, and with first-class cooking, it's a classic among the city's popular neighbourhood restaurants.
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Daily
The Friends Provident T20 begins with a group format in June, before quarter finals in July and Finals Day at Southampton's Rose Bowl in August. Yorkshire Carnegie play their home games at the Headingly Stadium in Leeds.
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Jun - Aug 2013 (annual)
Thackray Museum, one of Europe's largest medical museums, explores the social impact of past and present medical advances using award-winning interactive displays. It's located next to an important teaching hospital, St James', on the edge of Leeds' Harehills district.
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Daily
Infamous in his native Germany, DJ Sven Väth leads the debauched parties thrown at his groundbreaking club Cocoon. Cocoon in the Park sees the brand hold a one-day party at Temple Newsam, ideal for partygoers in pursuit of outdoor shenanigans.
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Jul 2013 (annual)
Opera fans gather every year on the beautiful Temple Newsam estate in Leeds for the free summertime Opera in the Park spectacular. There's a pop party in the park the following day.
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Jul 2013 (annual)
An impressive line-up of British pop stars gather each year for Leeds' Party in the Park in the grounds of Temple Newsam. The one-day festival regularly attracts 70,000 spectators and it's not just the line-up that leaves them smiling - tickets are free!
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Jul 2013 (annual)
For people who moan about festivals not being what they used to be, there's the laid-back Limetree Festival at North Yorkshire's Lime Tree Farm. It features up-and-coming bands, comedy, cabaret, street theatre and a stone circle, minus the corporate feel.
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Aug 2013 (annual)
The family-friendly Leeds City Museum occupies the landmark Leeds Institute building in the city centre. Its four storeys of educational and entertaining exhibitions and galleries range from 'Ancient Worlds' to 'Living Planet' to 'The Leeds Story'.
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Daily; not Mon
The Reform is a small, unusual bar with rich, comfortable furnishings, a laid-back atmosphere and a big selection of beers in a trendy nightlife area of the city centre. Upbeat rock and dance music plays into the small hours.
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Daily
The Howard Assembly Room showcases a range of international works including films, classical music, spoken word, world music, folk, jazz and more in its original Grade II-listed Victorian building in the cool northern edge of Leeds city.
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Daily
Set in the heart of the county of Yorkshire, which has inspired writers from the Brontës onwards, this festival in Ilkley focuses on talks from some of the nation's finest writers. Expect readings, discussions, writing workshops, children's events and performance.
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Sep - Oct 2013 (annual)
One of the most anticipated mountain festivals, The Banff Mountain Film Festival sets off on a world tour, visiting 30 different countries. Catch it at The Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds for some jaw-dropping and thought-provoking features.
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Feb 2013 (annual)
The traditionally ornate but newly restored Victorian grandeur of the Leeds Grand Theatre & Opera House is among the North's premier venues. The city-centre home to Opera North, it also features ballet and drama, among plenty of lighter shows.
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Daily
The Leeds International Concert Season runs throughout the year, but peaks between September and December each year at Leeds Town Hall. Expect exceptional performances from the Leeds Philharmonic Society and other prestigious international orchestras, led by world-renowned conductors.
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Aug - Dec 2013 (annual)
The Henry Moore Institute is a partnership between the Henry Moore Foundation and the Leeds City Council, set up primarily as a centre for sculpture. Its collections, exhibitions and research draws on the work of writers, artists, curators and historians.
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Daily
Crash Records is one of Leeds' best-known independent music shops, having opened in 1985. As well as a large collection of the latest and in-demand vinyl and CDs, the city-centre store sells tickets to major gigs across the city.
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Daily; not Sun
Leeds City Art Gallery houses acclaimed prints, watercolours, paintings, sculptures, photography and contemporary art. The collection includes works by famous regional artists such as Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth, as well as nationally acclaimed artists like Antony Gormley and Francis Bacon.
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Daily
The Northern Art Prize is an annual competition open to professional artists of all ages and working in any medium, living in the north of England. Come and see works by the shortlisted artists at the Leeds City Art Gallery exhibition.
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May - Aug 2013 (annual)
The City Gallery houses an internationally acclaimed collection of works on paper featuring work by Turner, Cotman, Cozens and Girtin. When not on show, these can be seen by appointment in the Print Room. The gallery also continues to collect contemporary art and through its close association with the Henry Moore Foundation can boast a modern sculpture collection second only to that of the Tate.
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Daily
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