International Women’s Day 2020: five things to do in Leeds to celebrate the achievements of women

Here’s our pick of five of the best events taking place over the weekend (Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 March).

Pen your own slogan (Sunday 8 March)

Flavour like Fancy, 8 Stainbeck Avenue, Leeds, LS7 2PA

In collaboration with Front Bum, Flavour like Fancy is inviting you to come along and create your own amazing wall slogan for International Women’s Day.

Whatever words inspire you, motivate you, make you feel ready to take on the day - you can make it happen with good quality gsm paper and other materials supplied by Flavour like Fancy.

There will also be a selection of frames to buy so you can hang up your beautiful creation straight away.

The event takes place from 2pm to 5pm. Tickets cost £10 and are available from the Eventbrite site here.

International Women’s Day: tech day by GDG Leeds (Saturday 7)

Infinity Works, 78 Wellington Street, Leeds, LS1 2EQ

In honour of International Women’s Day 2020, GDG Leeds presents a special tech day - join them for the opportunity to listen to expert female devs talk about tech, methodology and best practise.

The agenda for the day covers coffee and networking, talks about coding, a lecture from Dr Kulvinder Panesar about her computer science career journey and an introduction to Google Cloud AutoML.

The event is free to attend, but you can find out more about the day and register your intent to attend online here.

International Women’s Day Run (Sunday 8)

Brownlee Centre, Bodington Avenue, Leeds, LS16 8NA

As part of this year's International Women’s Day, Lynn Taylor and Holly Burton are putting on an all-female running event. The event page says: “This is a day when we remember all the women around the world that don’t share the same freedoms as we do.”

As part of the all-female event, the registration, photography and de-rig team are all women as well. There will also be members of the Leeds branch Women’s Equality Party for attendees to find out more about current campaigns and get involved.

There’s a 5k and one mile run, and everyone taking part will get a medal. There will also be age category prizes up for grabs too, with all the proceeds from the event being split between Forgotten Women and Gift Wellness.

The event kicks off at 2pm and you can sign up on the website here.

Walk and talk for International Women’s Day (Saturday 7)

Meeting outside Costa, Kirkstall Bridge Shopping Centre, Bridge Rd, Kirkstall, Leeds LS5 3BL

Hosted by When Creativity Speaks, this meet-up in support of International Women’s Day includes a walk along the canal at Kirkstall Bridge and a conversation about what it means to be a woman.

The event invites you to immerse yourself in the natural sights and sounds of the environment in celebration and remembrance of what it means to be a woman. Dogs and small children are welcome on the walk.

The event is free and there is no need to book. You can find out more on the Facebook page here.

Noisey Babes presents International Womxn’s Day party (Sunday 8)

Nation of Shopkeepers, 27-37 Cookridge Street, Leeds, LS2 3AG

With live music from Straight Girl, Catila and various DJs, creative workshops, artists, drinks vendors and local stalls, there’s something for everyone at this all-day party at Shopkeepers.

The event will also raise money for Bloody Good Period, a charity which donates period supplies to asylum seekers, refugees and those who can’t afford them.

Tickets cost £3 (with an 83p fee), and all proceeds go to Bloody Good Period - you can buy them online on the Eventbrite site here.