The Great Get Together: This weekend 21-23 June. What is it and what is happening near you?

The family of Jo Cox L-R Kim, Gordon and Jean Leadbeater, at last year's Great Get Together

Hundreds of community events will be held across the UK this weekend, with more than 100 in West Yorkshire alone.

It is a time when people can remember Jo Cox, the MP who was murdered in her Batley and Spen constituency on 16 June, 2016.

Jo Cox, MP for Batley and Spen who was killed in her constituency on June 16, 2016

It will also be a chance to get together and acknowledge Jo’s belief that we have ‘more in common, than that which divides us’.

This year, the third Great Get Together weekend will take place between 21-23 June 2019, which would have been Jo’s 45th birthday.

Across Leeds, there are dozens of events in many communities with street parties taking place, picnics, cricket matches and arts fairs. Coffee mornings, outdoor gatherings, school fairs and much more is being planned.

They include a Great Get Together at Rodley Cricket Club from 1pm-10pm on Saturday; a picnic in Micklefield Park from 3-7pm on Saturday; an event at Gledhow Primary School, from 1.30-4pm on Saturday; a celebration in East End Park, from 11am-3pm on Friday; a picnic on the bandstand in Ilkley from 1-4pm on Sunday, plus a Great Bridge Together at Newlay Bridge in Horsforth from 12.30-4pm on Saturday.

There will be a gathering the Fire Engine Day at the Old Fire Station at Gipton Approach, Gipton, from 11.30am-4pm on Saturday; the Compton Community Hub hosts an event on Harehills Lane on Saturday from 11am-3pm; there is an event at Toast Love Coffee Cafe in Harehills on Monday 24 June from 9am-3pm; plus a huge gathering is planned for Roundhay Park from 1pm-6.45pm on Sunday.

Jo’s sister Kim added: “Jo was a proud Yorkshire Lass and so am I. We have an awful lot to be proud of across this wonderful county that I am so pleased to call home.

“Especially all the people who have embraced The Great Get Together and shone a light on the wonderful things we do and the sense of community that exists in so many places.

“People have supported our family for the last three years and they continue to do so on a daily basis. I can't thank them enough.

“Jo’s words in her first speech in parliament, when she said we are more united and have more in common than that which divides us, are as true today as they were then. Maybe even more so.”

The Great Get Together campaign says: "Get together with neighbours, friends or community to have fun, share food and celebrate all that we have in common.

"It could be a street party or a shared barbecue, a picnic or a bake off. What matters is that we have fun and bring our communities closer together."

More details of what is happening near you: https://www.greatgettogether.org/find/

FACTFILE

The Great Get Together is inspired by Jo, who was killed in her Batley and Spen constituency on 16 June 2016.

Jo’s family and friends came up with the initiative and more than one hundred organisations are now support the event.

The campaign is inspired by Jo, but organisers expect people to take part for many different reasons.

A ‘get together’ is any gathering of neighbours, friends and those in our communities to celebrate what we have in common.

It should provide a reason to reach out to those you might not otherwise, and by building new relationships, create stronger communities.