Belle Isle Gala ran for many years until 2019. It was held in the grounds of Windmill Primary School, sometimes also on the nearby Parkside. It was held on the first Saturday of July and was regularly attended by a few hundred Belle Isle residents with stalls, gymnastic and majorette displays, attractions like a mobile farm, fire engines and Punch & Judy, with the official opening by the Lord Mayor of Leeds and involvement from the school.
The Gala was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid, and the decision in 2022 was that providing free food and activities for families across the summer holidays was the priority. In the end BITMO put on twenty events with free food and activities across the summer holidays and provided three events in the May and October half terms and have planned a series of events over Christmas.
BITMO’s Board is considering whether to bring back the Gala or to continue with a series of events throughout the summer, including local fun days.
Belle Isle Gala
The Gala brings together the whole of the Belle Isle community for a day
Having a big event means we can bring major attractions like the climbing wall and …
Groups like gymnastics and majorettes can showcase their talents to a bigger audience.
The disadvantage is that a lot of time and money go into an event that lasts just a few hours. This means we can run fewer events over the summer.
Local Fun Days
Instead of one central Gala we could run local fun days around Belle Isle. These could be in locations like the Sporty Space MUGA off Winrose Crescent, Low Grange View and in the Swamp on the Brooms.
People from across Belle Isle could attend all the local events, so there would be more free activities across the summer. We could divide the Gala funding between the local events so could still bring high profile attractions like the mobile farm.
BITMO’s Board want to hear your comments on whether we should bring back the Gala or fund more local events.
What is your opinion? Please complete the form below.
