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2025 is our 30th anniversary!

Celebrate with us throughout the year with our 30th anniversary events…

30th Anniversary Summer Film Festival – from July 18th

We’re showing 30 films to celebrate our 30 years, one film from each year since the Kirkgate Centre opened. Each title will have a local connection, see if you can work them all out once the films are announced!
Films are now ready to book online, and you can purchase a film pass, which will give you the option of booking to see every one of the 30 films for just £30! Buy your pass online first, then your customer account will enable one free seat at any (or all!) of our festival titles.
BUY YOUR FILM PASS HERE and view the digital brochure HERE

Anniversary Party! – Saturday 11th October

Join us at The Kirkgate for a New Orleans speakeasy style celebration with the 1920s swing jazz band Alligator Gumbo, there’ll be food with a Cajun twist and you’ll have a final chance to buy your 30th birthday raffle tickets.
This a chance to celebrate 30 years of The Kirkgate in style, so put on your fanciest frocks, invite all your friends and get ready to groove the night away.

30th Anniversary Raffle – to be drawn mid October

With  30 prizes for our 30 years including a private film screening with dinner for two from Wild Zucchinis, a house concert from At The Drop of Another Hippopotamus, bespoke glass art, a voucher for The Kirkstile + a case of beer and many more! Raffle entry is £5 either online or through our box office.

ENTER THE RAFFLE HERE

Seller registration is now open for our Autumn 2025 Cockfrock event. This ever popular sale of pre-loved ladies fashions and accessories is the biggest pop up sale of it’s kind in the North West! For more information on being a seller with Cockfrock click here.

Kirkgate Arts and Heritage Cockermouth Venue for Theatre Films Music The Kirkgate Centre is an entertainment and cultural venue at the heart of the lively community of Cockermouth, Cumbria.

We celebrate our local talent and heritage, and bring top quality professional entertainment to our town and many other communities across the area to the west of the Lake District National Park.

Whether you enjoy films on a big screen, live music, theatre, exhibitions, shows for children and families or community events, Kirkgate has something for everyone. Our quirky character makes us a special venue for weddings, parties, festivals and conferences.

Our mission:

“Creative talent is valued, developed, and supported with opportunities for all to actively engage with and enjoy the arts, our local heritage and community life”

Our values:

Commitment – Our staff and volunteers are dedicated to delivering our mission.

Inclusion – We aim to make art, heritage, and culture accessible to all our communities.

Sustainability – We aim to ensure that the organisation is secure for future generations from both financial and environmental perspective.

Nurturing – We aim to provide an environment that encourages growth, development of skills confidence and enjoyment for all.

WHAT’S ON

30th Anniversary Film Festival: Up ‘n’ Under (12)

19th July 2025 2:00pm (Doors open at 1:00 pm)

Kirkgate Centre

Category: Film

1998 Up ‘n’ Under (12) The Cobblers Arms have been the best and most feared Amateur Rugby League team for the past ten years. Ex-pro Arthur (Gary Olsen) bets their boss that he could train a bunch of deadbeats to defeat them in a local rugby sevens tournament. But to do so he must first get them into shape with ...

30th Anniversary Film Festival: Jude (15)

19th July 2025 4:30pm (Doors open at 3:30 pm)

Kirkgate Centre

Category: Film

1996 – Jude (15) In late 19th-century England, Jude (Christopher Eccleston) aspires to be an academic, but is hobbled by his blue-collar background. Instead, he works as a stonemason and is trapped in an unloving marriage to a farmer's daughter named Arabella (Rachel Griffiths). But when his wife leaves him, Jude sees an opportunity to improve himself. When he moves ...

30th Anniversary Film Festival: The Loss of Sexual Innocence (18)

19th July 2025 7:30pm (Doors open at 6:30 pm)

Kirkgate Centre

Category: Film

1997 – The Loss of Sexual Innocence (18) A series of loosely connected vignettes and flashbacks explores the life of a filmmaker named Nic (Julian Sands) from his life at age 5, 12 and 16, and as a man embarking on his first film in 1950s Tunisia, and finally to his current age. Along the way, well let’s just say ...

30th Anniversary Film Festival: Miss Potter (PG)

20th July 2025 2:00pm (Doors open at 1:00 pm)

Kirkgate Centre

Category: Film

2007 – Miss Potter (PG) Beatrix Potter (Renée Zellweger) overcomes many obstacles in her quest to become a writer, including a domineering mother and the chauvinism prevalent in Victorian England. She falls in love with her publisher, Norman Warne (Ewan McGregor), yet his marriage proposal and a subsequent tragedy change her life forever. Starring: Renée Zellweger; Ewan McGregor; Emily Watson; ...
Testimonials

I remember fondly our time at the Kirkgate a couple of years ago, the warm and intimate atmosphere and the friendly welcome.

Kiki Dee

 The Kirkgate is my ideal venue. Intimate and warm, staffed by passionate folks who really care about The Arts and about their local community. It has a beating heart, even more so due to the eager enthusiastic volunteers who help run it.

Snake Davis

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Cockermouth and had a great evening at the Kirkgate, the venue and staff were fantastic. We look forward to returning sometime in the future.

Kevin Morris & Dr Feelgood