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Everything you need to know about: Wylam Brewery’s Newcastle Exhibition Park opening

Wylam Brewery hans announced the opening dates for its new brewery and events space at Palace of Arts at Exhibition Park in Newcastle city centre.

Don’t miss everything you need to know ahead of next month’s launch.

When

The brewery will open its doors to the public on the second May Bank Holiday Weekend (27/28/29) with a Street Food and Craft Beer Pop Up event entitled The Happenings.

Dave Stone, Brewery Director, said: “It’s extremely exciting for us to be able to announce our opening dates along with the initial programme of events and live music shows at our new home at the Palace of Arts. We look forward to opening the doors to this incredible and historically important building.

“It has been almost a decade since anyone has had the opportunity to visit the Palace of Arts and we have taken great pride and care in bringing the building back to life.”

Who

As well as announcing the opening weekend dates Wylam announce the first confirmed live performances, which include local legends Lindisfarne, soul singer Michael Kiwanuka and English indie rock band Mystery Jets.

The Palace of Arts will also play host to The North East Brewers Market, which is programmed by Craft Beer Calling (the region’s International Craft Beer Festival) and brings together the regions brewing community under one roof.

Dave continued: “There are some incredible microbreweries in the North East and the quality and diversity of beers being produced is at an all time high. We feel it’s important for the region’s talented brewers to have a collaborative platform in which to present their beers.

“The North East Brewers Market will assist in raising the profile and awareness of the incredible beer scene we have here.”

Local Music Magazine Narc will curate a number of summer shows under the banner Narc In The Park with the likes of Smoove & Turrell and The Lake Poets confirmed to perform.

There will be a Brewery Tap on site, which will open Thursday to Saturday and will pour exclusive brews and blends that will be exclusive to the premises. Brewery Tours will also be held on Saturdays.

How

Wylam have invested £1.8 million into the Palace of Arts building since planning permission was granted in September last year.

A brand new 30 Barrel brew house has been acquired which will afford the brewery a fifty percent increase in its production capacity.

Dave added: “We are at full capacity at our current site in Heddon on the Wall and there is a real thirst for our beers across the UK. The new brew house will give us the opportunity to quench that thirst whilst maintaining our ethos of quality over quantity.”

Further Reading: Palace of Arts history

The North East Coast Exhibition was a world’s fair held in Newcastle which ran from May to October 1929. Held five years after the British Empire Exhibition in London, and at the start of the Great Depression, the event was held to encourage local heavy industry.

It was opened on 14 May by the then Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) in what is now Newcastle’s Exhibition Park. When it closed on 26 October over 4 million people had attended (with an average of 30 000 visitors per day).

Several buildings were constructed in an Art Deco style to the designs of the official architects W and TR Milburn of Sunderland who had substantial experience in the fields of theatre and cinema design.

Henry Kelly Limited of Newcastle were the builders and construction costs were £114,000 (just over £5 million in today’s money).

The main buildings were the Palace of Engineering, the Palace of Industry, the Palace of Arts, the Festival Hall, Garden Club, a stadium of 20,000 capacity and the Women’s and Artisans’ sections.

There was also an Empire Marketing Board Pavilion which was government sponsored and, unlike the other buildings, designed by government appointed architects.

For more information, check out Wylam’s website here.

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