Residents and visitors in York can look forward to a busy summer, with Visit York announcing a series of new events taking place between May and June 2026. These activities are expected to provide a boost to city centre businesses, pubs, and restaurants.
The citywide WizardFest 2026 will run from 23rd to 25th May. The event is organised by Dan Wood, who is known as the Wizard of York and won Experience of the Year at the 2025 Visit York Tourism Awards. Following the success of the inaugural 2025 festival, which saw most attractions sell out, the event is returning with support from sponsors including Loopy Scoops, The Cat Gallery, Baby Boy’s Burgers, Party Octopus, Attractions Near Me, Totally Awesome Toys, The Society of Alchemists and Primary Times Magazine.
As part of the May half-term activities, the Magical Night Market will take place on Bank Holiday Monday, 25th May, from 7:30pm to 10pm at Shambles Market. Organised by Make It York, this family-friendly, alcohol-free event will feature more than 30 local traders.
Additionally, the York Festival of Ideas will return from 30th May to 12th June 2026. Organised by the University of York, the programme is one of the largest free festivals of its kind in the UK. The festival previously attracted over 54,000 attendees across more than 260 events in 2025.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
