Pontefract's Big Summer Guide

Get ready for an extraordinary community event that brings history, wheels and local spirit together! Pontefract Civic Society’s WheelFest transforms Pontefract’s town centre into a showcase of mechanical marvels and historical heritage. WheelFest celebrates everything with wheels, while 1940s Ropergate steps back in time to commemorate Pontefract’s contributions during World War II!

📍 Pontefract town centre, WF8 1BD
📅 Saturday 13 June, 10am – 4pm
🎫 Free

Join Yonder for a magical evening of relaxation at Pontefract Castle, celebrating the summer solstice with sunset yoga, gentle movement and calming meditation. With sessions for all abilities and a moonlit wind‑down, expect a soothing blend of mindfulness, live music and wellness experiences in this tranquil and atmospheric setting that will leave you truly invigorated.

📍 Pontefract Castle, WF8 1QH
📅 Thursday 18 June, 5:30pm – 9:30pm
🎫 £20.21, booking essential

Pontefract Castle’s biggest classical music event returns! Proms at the Castle is a magnificent evening of music and light with the West Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra. Bring along friends and loved ones to listen to moving melodies as the sun goes down over the atmospheric Castle. The concert will end with a fantastic firework finale.

📍Pontefract Castle, WF8 1QH
📅 Saturday 20 June, 5:30pm – 11pm
🎫 Tickets from £14.80, booking essential

Enjoy A Proper Yorkshire Father’s Day at Pontefract Racecourse – it’s a great day out for all the family! Alongside some fantastic races this Family Day has plenty to keep younger racegoers entertained. So dig out your flat caps and dust of your best summer dresses, this Sunday meeting will be one to remember.

Why not treat the special father figure in your life to a thrilling day out at the races?

📍 Pontefract Racecourse, WF8 4QD
📅 Sunday 21 June, 11:30am – 5pm
🎫 Prices from £6.00, booking essential

Tributes at the Castle is back for its second year, inviting audiences to step back in time for an unforgettable evening of music and nostalgia at Pontefract Castle! Following last year’s ABBA Tribute, this year audiences can enjoy an 80s show packed with riveting renditions of all the classics from the decade. Think Bon Jovi, Madonna, The Human League, Eurythmics and more!

📍Pontefract Castle, WF8 1QH
📅 Sunday 21 June, 4pm – 8pm
🎫 Tickets from £14.80, booking essential

Wakefield Armed Forces Day is a free, family event at Pontefract Park celebrating the contributions of serving and veteran armed forces members. It features activities like a Wings Free Fall Parachute display, a veterans’ parade, and military displays, offering a close-up view of the armed forces’ capabilities. Visitors can also enjoy street food, a bar, community stalls, a funfair, and a craft market. And make sure you keep your eyes to the sky for the flypast from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight!

📍Pontefract Park, WF8 4QD
📅 Saturday 4 July, 10am – 4:30pm
🎫 Free

Get ready for Pontefract Liquorice Festival – the annual confectionary-themed bonanza celebrating the town’s historic link with liquorice. The iconic Liquorice Parade makes its triumphant return alongside live music, food and drink market, Liquorice Food & Drink Trail, family activities, heritage talks and much more!

Can’t wait until the festival?

Then make sure to go to Liquorice Shoots on Saturday 11 July (10am-4pm) the festival’s warm up event! Hosted by the Pontefract Civic Society, you can expect a craft market, funfair rides, face painting and much more!

📍Pontefract town centre, WF8 1BD
📅 Sunday 12 July, 10am – 4pm
🎫 Free

It’s the return of Pontefract Racecourse‘s live music night and beer festival! Flash: A Tribute to Queen is a spellbinding tribute band dedicated to iconic rock band Queen, performing hits including “Radio GaGa”, “Bohemian Rhapsody” “Don’t Stop Me Now” and more.  The Beer Festival located in the Grandstand & Paddock Enclosure features great ales and ciders from four brilliant local breweries.

📍 Pontefract Racecourse, WF8 4QD
📅 Friday 1y July, 4:30pm – 10:45pm
🎫 Prices from £6.00, booking essential

Join Farmer Copleys for a weekend of live country music set in the heart of the Yorkshire countryside. Soak up the atmosphere with performances from original UK and US country artists and top tribute acts, fantastic food stalls and bars serving draught beers, wines and more – the perfect backdrop for a weekend of music, friends and fresh country air.

📍 Farmer Copleys, WF7 5AF
📅 Saturday 25 July – Sunday 26 July, 12pm – 9pm
🎫 Tickets from £25, booking essential

The glitz and glamour of Ladies Day returns to Pontefract Racecourse! The ladies of Yorkshire really do ‘dress to impress’ in an effort to win the coveted Best Dressed Lady Competition, kindly been sponsored by RIU Hotels and Resorts. This year’s lucky winner will be jetting off on holiday to Zanzibar with an all-inclusive week stay for two with flights included! So, big hats at the ready!

📍 Pontefract Racecourse, WF8 4QD
📅 Wednesday 5 August, 12pm – 6pm
🎫 Prices from £6.00, booking essential

Young D’Artagnan dreams of joining the legendary Musketeers, and soon finds himself swept into a daring mission to recover the Queen’s jewels while facing the scheming Cardinal Richelieu and formidable Milady de Winter.

Set in war‑torn 1600s France, Illyria delivers thrilling swordplay and sparkling storytelling in this lively take on Dumas’ classic, in the atmospheric surroundings of Pontefract Castle.

📍 Pontefract Castle, WF8 1QH
📅 Saturday 8 August, 6:30pm – 8pm
🎫 Tickets from £11.50 – booking essential

Friarwood Festival is a family friendly, community music festival, raising funds for the upkeep and maintenance of Friarwood Valley Gardens in Pontefract.

Enjoy local bands and artists, delicious street food, bars and plenty of kids entertainment.

📍 Friarwood Valley Gardens, WF8 2RR
📅 Saturday 8 August, 2pm – 8pm
🎫 Tickets from £3 – booking essential

Rosalind and her cousin Celia flee to the Forest of Arden, where disguises, romance and mistaken identity spark a whirlwind of comic chaos and confusion.

Set in a playful, fast‑paced world, the four‑strong HandleBards bring high‑energy humour and inventive staging to this lively production of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

📍 Pontefract Castle, WF8 1QH
📅 Thursday 20 August, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
🎫 Tickets from £11.50 – booking essential

Pontefract Racecourse‘s last Sunday race meeting of the season is their annual In The Zone Family Day. Enjoy a Behind the Scenes Talk in the Winners Enclosure, join the ex-racehorses for a parade, listen to the expert Punters Panel, enjoy the funfair, free sweets, activity packs and racecards for kids and loads more!

📍 Pontefract Racecourse, WF8 4QD
📅 Sunday 16 August, 11:30am – 6pm
🎫 Prices from £6.00, booking essential