Cockermouth entertainment centre calls for more government support

A Cockermouth charity is calling on the government to provide more support to community arts and entertainment venues hit by the rising numbers of Covid cases. ‘Small venues such as the Kirkgate Centre which are so important to small towns like Cockermouth have had nearly two years of struggling to survive,’ said Chair of Kirkgate Arts and Heritage Marion Bowman. …

Letter Published In The Guardian, December 24 2021

Dear Editor, Dorothy Wordsworth’s rare achievement (Editorial, 19 December 2021) as the other great writer in the Wordsworth family and an early environmentalist is the focus of a year-long celebration of her life in the town where she was born on Christmas Day 250 years ago – Cockermouth, Cumbria. The centrepiece of the project, supported by our local councils, the …

Festive revels at Cockermouth’s Kirkgate

Cockermouth’s Kirkgate Centre is getting into the swing of Christmas with a string of mid-winter entertainments to carry the town through the festive season and beyond. Leading the pack are the young performers of the Kirkgate Youth Theatre on Thursday 9 December at 7pm, with an original show, Sparkles of Light. Building on their street theatre act from last summer’s …

Dorothy Wordsworth to Light Up Cumbria’s Christmas

A specially commissioned artwork representing Dorothy Wordsworth is to be part of the town centre Christmas lights in Cockermouth, Cumbria. The ‘Portrait of Dorothy’ is being switched on at a major outdoor event on November 21. The portrait is a light installation that will stand on a temporary plinth in the middle of Cockermouth’s Main Street near Wordsworth House where …

New Leader at Cockermouth’s Kirkgate

Cockermouth’s entertainment and cultural hub, the Kirkgate, has appointed a new General Manager to take forward its revived programme of creative arts, entertainment and community activities following the closures caused by Covid-19. Emma Heys, of Greysouthen, will take up her new post with the charity next week (September 13). Ms Heys has had a long association with Kirkgate Arts and …

Lottery Players Back Dorothy Wordsworth Celebrations

Cockermouth charity Kirkgate Arts and Heritage has won a major grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund to support a year-long celebration of Dorothy Wordsworth, the town’s most famous daughter. Made possible by money raised by National Lottery players, the £67,100 grant for Kirkgate’s ‘I Am Dorothy’ project will fund a range of community activities including a special art work …

Kirkgate “Shines” The Spotlight on Cumbria’s Musical Talent

Cockermouth’s Kirkgate Centre is ready to ‘Shine’ the spotlight on the blossoming Cumbrian music scene as it prepares to re-open its doors to live events. Whitehaven pop and rock outfit The Little Lies launches the Kirkgate’s summer selection of live music events next Saturday – a programme that includes an appearance by internationally-renowned pipes and fiddle player Kathryn Tickell. Tickell, …

Friday Night is Pizza Night in Cockermouth’s Kirkgate Quarter

Two Cockermouth businesses are joining forces to cook up a new spin on Friday nights out on the town. From this week (Friday, June 4), film fans at the Kirkgate Centre cinema will be able to order in pizzas from nearby Fermento, Market Place, to enjoy before the film in the Kirkgate’s newly spruced up ground floor bar. From 6 …

Stars of Stage, Screen and Sport Set to Shine at Kirkgate

Stars of stage, screen and sport are set to shine a light on the entertainments scene in West Cumbria as the region emerges from the darker days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Cockermouth’s Kirkgate Centre is preparing to welcome back visitors in a socially distanced and COVID-safe way on Monday, May 17, after five months of enforced closure in the lockdown …