The Piece Hall
Storytelling with Father Christmas
Father Christmas is taking a break from his busy schedule to read his favourite seasonal stories to all the good boys and girls. Join him for a magical morning of storytelling in the big top tent at the Piece Hall on Saturday 22 December, 10:15am & 12:00pm and on Sunday 23 and Monday 24 December, 10:15am.
Recommended for audiences 1-8yrs find out more and book your tickets at £5 each at https://thepiecehall.co.uk/events/storytelling-with-father-christmas
Elves Christmas Workshops at the Piece Hall
Join Cinnamon the Elf and the Piece Hall’s Heritage and Learning team for a range of festive craft activities including Christmas tree decorations, tea light holders and felted robins.
Workshops will be at 10:00am, 11:30am, 1:30pm and 3:00pm on
- 1, 2, 8, 9, 15 and 22 December
The £7 per child ticket includes a gift for each child. For further information call 01422 525217.
Booking is essential at the Piece Hall website.
Christmas Fair at the Piece Hall
From Friday 30 November to Sunday 2 December there will be a specially curated Christmas Fair, showcasing some of the region’s favourite independent craft stalls, artisan makers and pop-up food and drink traders in the stunning surroundings of The Piece Hall.
Entry is FREE on Friday 12:00pm–6:00pm and on Saturday and Sunday 10:00am–6:00pm.
A seasonally decorated stretch tent housing the hand-picked stalls will take pride of place in the central courtyard, sitting alongside a cosy Nordic Tipi that offers the perfect place to warm-up by a roaring fire.
The surrounding independent shops, cafes, bars and restaurants will be open too, making this an unmissable festive shopping weekend.
Jingle and Mingle – Cheese and Wine Evening
Czerwik of Brighouse is well known for its fun cheese and wine tasting evenings which have been held for many years in the shop at Brighouse on a private party basis for groups of friends, family etc. who want to celebrate an event – or simply just to get together for a fun evening.
Business for Calderdale is lucky enough to have secured owner of Czerwick and master Cheesemonger John, for the BFC Christmas cheese and wine evening at the Piece Hall on Thursday 6 December, 7:00pm-9:30pm.
There will be three white wines followed by one beer then three red wines.
Each wine and beer is complemented with a matching cheese, and John will take you through each product providing as much information as possible. The theme for the tasting is simple ‘have fun’ so the whole evening takes on an informal and relaxed atmosphere. John is around to answer any questions you may have on any of the wines or cheeses experienced during the tasting.
There are 50 places available tickets are £25.00 per person and can be booked through Eventbrite.
Halifax Steampunk Market Comes to Calderdale Industrial Museum
Halifax Steampunk Market will be held Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 September 2018, 11:00am-5:00pm at Calderdale Industrial Museum, Square Rd, Halifax HX1 1QG.
Outdoor entertainment is to be confirmed but there will be a flying display from one of Amy Jo Lawrance’s owls from her Flying Squadron on both days at 1:00pm. This will most likely be in grounds of the Piece Hall which is immediately behind the museum.
Recruiting for the Coffee Jousting (that’s right!) commences from 3:00pm for the tournament to take place at 4:00pm on the Saturday only.
Captain Cumberpatch’s Curious Creations will be donating medals for the prizewinners (silver, gold and two bronze) and one also for the Coffee Jousting Beanmaster (the host).
There will be a tombola run to raise money for a named charity which all the traders will be donating to.
A vintage tearoom will be there for the weekend selling lovely homemade cake and cuppas. There will be no hot food vendors outside this time as there’s very little outdoor space plus the museum backs onto the Piece Hall where there are other cafes for normal food plus there is a Burger King just the other side of the museum.
Don’t forget you need to pay admission to the museum itself as you will be able to see all the exhibitions there as well.
Customers will be paying normal admission to the Industrial Museum itself to be able to access the traders as you will be mixed in with the whole building, the displays and the layout.
Admission prices are: £5 per adult. Concessions £4. Accompanied children enter free.
If you are interested in trading please email leedssteampunkmarket@gmail.com.
Antiques Roadshow Comes to The Piece Hall
BBC One’s Antiques Roadshow will be filming at the The Piece Hall in Halifax on Sunday 8 July.
Fiona Bruce and the team of Antiques Roadshow experts will be waiting to welcome you, so dust off your family heirlooms and dig out those car boot bargains and bring them along for free advice and valuations to visitors.
The Piece Hall is a stunning 18th-century cloth market reminiscent of Italian palazzo style architecture. Beautifully restored the Hall is now the commercial and cultural focus for the Yorkshire town and this will be the first time Antiques Roadshow has visited the town since 1995.
Doors open at 9:30am and close at 4:30pm. Entry to the show is free, everyone is welcome, and no tickets or pre-registration is required.
Visitors are welcome to just turn up on the day but they can also share their stories about the special items they are bringing along using Share Your Story on the Antiques Roadshow website.
Alternatively, email: antiques.roadshow@bbc.co.uk or write to Antiques Roadshow, BBC, Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2LR.
More information, frequently asked questions, and parking information, can be found at: www.bbc.co.uk/antiquesroadshow or on the show’s Facebook page.
The Big Sing at The Piece Hall
Between 1831 and 1890 thousands of local Sunday School children would come together in The Piece Hall over Whitsuntide for The Big Sing. It’s been recorded that up to 34,000 would pack the vast courtyard for this popular event and celebration of song.
On 25 May 2018 The Piece Hall Trust in partnership with Calderdale Music Trust and Music Director Sam Dunkley from Performing Arts etc. will recreate this magnificent tradition once again. The project will bring 1,000 children from over 20 Calderdale primary schools together to perform a selection of songs, a number of which have been specially commissioned and written by the schools involved. This inaugural event will mark the extraordinary heritage of The Piece Hall, bringing it to life for the participants and audience in what we hope will become a tradition.
Witness history being recreated as we celebrate the past, present and future of The Piece Hall and the local community.
Schools include: Bolton Brow Academy, Barkisland Primary, Scout Road Academy, Old Town Primary, Calder Primary, Holy Trinity Primary, Bowling Green Primary, Salterhebble J & I School, Copley Primary, St Joseph’s Todmorden, Woodbank, Savile Park, Cross Lane, St Joseph’s Halifax, Lee Mount, Burnley Road, Moorside Community Primary School, Beech Hill, Ling Bob and St Andrews Junior, New Road Primary, Luddendenfoot Primary and Saint Chads Primary.
Entry from 6:30pm is £5 (four tickets for £18). The show begins at 7:30pm.
Rehearsal for The Big Sing at The Piece Hall from The Piece Hall on Vimeo.
Halifax Stories 2018 Comes to the Piece Hall
Halifax Stories is part of Stronger Communities project funded by CFFC and the Ghandi Statue Memorial Trust currently underway in Calderdale. The project focuses on building stronger and more connected communities through helping participants to develop self-belief, well-being, and practical skills & knowledge around influencing the world around them. The project also importantly focuses on building understanding between people from different backgrounds through the facilitation of community conversations and story-telling.
Stella Barnes, an associate artist with Counterpoints Arts will offer a series of creative workshops enabling participants to explore the rich stories within their own lives. Through a story telling process, Stella will work with participants to enable them to develop new narratives and perspectives on their lives in Calderdale. The work produced by participants will be exhibited in the Piece Hall between June and August 2018. Alongside Stella, a photographer will take the portraits of willing participants, which will also be exhibited
Anyone can come. But to organise lunch and refreshments the organisers need to know numbers so please text or call Roisin on 07771 655617, or email roisincavanagh@all1collective.org.uk. You will need to book on by Thursday 1 February, giving your name and when you will be coming.
These workshops will take place in the Learning Studio on the south wall of the Piece Hall over 5 days. The workshops will run from 11am-2.30pm with lunch included. It is hoped that many participants will participate in all 5 workshops, but that some people might only be able to do to a few. It is asked that participants try and participate in as many workshops as possible as this will guarantee that you have a finished piece of work to exhibit in the Piece Hall on Thursday 8 February, Friday 9 February, Monday 12 February, Tuesday 13 February, Wednesday 14 February. There will be a special workshop in the evening, designed for young people, parents who would like to drop in with their children, or for people who work in the daytime. This will take place from 6pm-8:30pm on Thursday 8 February.
More about Stella Barnes: Stella Barnes is an experienced artist who has worked extensively with communities. In 2017 she was the artist-in residence with idle women living and delivering workshops on a narrow boat and in the community in Mirfield and Dewsbury. Before this Stella has worked for many years on a range of different community projects and previously worked as Director of Participation in Ovalhouse, a theatre based in South London where she developed ‘We are London,’ a theatre project for young migrants and other young people and set up the Paper Project, a collective of young migrant artists.
Albesila Luminarium – Architects of Air at The Piece Hall
FREE entry 25-28 August 2017.
- Friday 12:00-1900
- Saturday & Sunday 10:00-19:00
- Monday 10:00-1900
Taking inspiration from Islamic architecture, Archimedean solids and Gothic cathedrals, founder, designer and artistic director, Alan Parkinson, has created a series of structures that guide you into a sense of wonder.
Albesila is their latest creation and marks the company’s 25th year. The Piece Hall’s glorious central courtyard will be one of the first locations to showcase this new labyrinth of geometric forms. It will invite audiences to move in a medium of subtle hues as vivid reflections of liquid colour spills across the curved walls, creating a world apart from the normal and everyday.
“What motivates me to design is the fact that I continue to be struck by the beauty of light and colour found in the luminaria. These structures nurture an awareness of a pure phenomena that gently cuts through everyday conditioned perceptions…” Alan Parkinson, designer and founder of Architects of Air.
After dark the luminarium will be lit from the inside bringing the architecture to life for visitors in contrast to the surrounding Grade I listed building.
The event is not ticketed so just drop in but please note capacity is limited inside so you may be expected to queue.
It is also important that you read the Essential Information with regard to avoiding bringing bags (to enter the luminarium you must take off your shoes and have no bulky items). Checking this information will avoid disappointment.
