In celebration of the launch of Long Division Festival, Wakefield Bondholders will welcome Dean Freeman, Director of the Festival, to speak at the group’s first Friday event on 1st June at Unity Hall and Business Space.
Responsible for bringing some of the biggest names in music to Wakefield, Long Division, the city’s largest music and culture festival, is coming back for its seventh year with a bang.
Hosting a 5-day celebration from 30th May – 3rd June, the festival will once again give people yet another great reason to visit the district.
Following a brief hiatus, which saw local lad Dean Freeman take the time to step back and make preparations for a larger and more diverse offering than ever before, this year’s event has undergone a new and exciting refresh.
Having established an interest in Wakefield’s music scene whilst working for Fanzine, Rhubarb Bomb, Dean was intrigued by the hotbed of talent which gathered around local music venues such as The Hop and Escobar.
Dean comments: “With the city clearly welcoming a new generation of musical talent, I felt that Wakefield would benefit from its own platform to showcase local talent as well as attracting performers from further afield.”
Having become a formal company just last year, the Long Division team has undergone an exciting expansion with the addition of a board of 8 directors made up of representatives from a number of disciplines. Purposely selecting those from backgrounds other than music, Dean intended to create a team of advisors who could each bring something different, building upon the artistic and cultural aspects of the event.
As a result, continuing to support local musicians by providing a platform for their work to be showcased, as well as attracting creative talents from throughout the country, this year’s festival will retain its strong focus on music but will also extend its offering to encompass the wider arts and cultural scene for which Wakefield is well known.
From its humble beginnings in 2011 when the festival spread across a total of 6 venues, this year’s event will require no less than thirty venues across the city, including larger capacity venues such as Wakefield Cathedral, Warehouse 23 and St Austin’s Church.
With the number of venues steadily growing year on year, so have visitor numbers which have risen from approximately 1,000 in the first year to over 3,000 expected attendees in 2018. Not only does this mean that visitors to the city have increased but spend at local venues and businesses is expected to follow suit contributing an estimated £100,000 to the local economy.
Melissa Armitage, Manager at Wakefield Bondholders, comments: “It’s amazing to see the contribution that Dean has made to our local economy by simply following his passion. The upcoming festival will be a great success and I’m personally looking forward to attending and supporting Long Division, our talented local artists and visiting a range of fantastic city centre venues.”
The first Friday event will take place at Unity Hall and Business Space from 8.45am on 1st June. To book your place at the first Friday event, visit the Wakefield Bondholders website.
