Looking for something to do at the start of February 2025 in the North East? I’ve got you covered with this list. As part of my feature on BBC Tees and Newcastle, I select my top picks of things happening across the North East, and here’s what I’ve chosen for Friday 31st January to Sunday 9th February.
Durham Restaurant Week – Fri 31st Jan to Fri 7th Feb
We’re starting in Durham with something for the food fans among us. Durham Restaurant Week is back from Friday 31st January to Friday 7th February with a great opportunity to make the most of some seriously good offers across the city’s restaurants and eateries. It’s so difficult to choose from the huge range available, but some of my recommendations are four courses for £25 at the brand new fine dining restaurant, FIIK, three tapas and a drink for £15 at Tapas Factory, or a sharing platter for £20 at Holy Guacamoley. But there are a huge range of offers and so many places getting involved, so there’s something for everyone. You can find the full list of participating restaurants on the Durham BID website and you’ll want to get booked up quickly because tables will go fast!
Sunderland Cocktail Week – Fri 31st Jan to Sun 9th Feb
As if things couldn’t get any more delicious, we’ve also got Sunderland Cocktail Week starting from Friday 31st January too! That’s on until Sunday 9th February, giving you ten solid days to explore all of the different deals around the city. The signature offering is £5 selected cocktails at top spots, like Mexico 70, The Botanist and Blacks Corner, but there’s also a multitude of other offers to discover, like two cocktails for £12 at Otto and 2 for 1 spritzes at the Ivy House. And as if that wasn’t enough, some places are doing deals on their food too, so you can make a great night of it. To get involved, you’ll need to buy a wristband from the Sunderland Cocktail Week website and that’ll unlock all the deals for you, and you can find all the info you need on there as well.
Durham Chinese New Year Celebrations – multi-venue – Sat 1st Feb
If you’re looking for something fun, free and family-friendly to do on Saturday 1st February, you might be interested in the Chinese New Year celebrations in Durham. There’s absolutely loads going on for people of all ages, including a traditional lion dance in the market place that will parade through the city. There’ll be lantern and snake paper chain crafts, and drop-in language taster sessions at Clayport Library. There’ll be a tea ceremony show at Dunelm House, where you’ll see amazing instruments, vocal performances, dance and costumes. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, so you can find out absolutely everything you need to know on the This Is Durham website, and why not tie in your visit to Restaurant Week to make a real day of it?
Newcastle Chinese New Year Celebrations – city centre – Sun 2nd Feb
If you want to get involved in Chinese New Year a bit further north, take a look at Newcastle’s celebrations. This is taking place on Sunday 2nd February, starting with a lion dance and parade from Grey’s Monument to the Chinese Arch. Here, there’ll be a dance finale, firecrackers, martial arts and traditional drumming to really round off the parade in style. There’s also a full programme of things to see and do in Chinatown, like a Tai Chi demonstration, an arts and crafts tent, and fairground rides, so it’s going to be a brilliant day. You can find more details on the Get Into Newcastle website, but otherwise, just turn up and enjoy!
Hopetown Darlington Comic Con – Sat 1st Feb
A brand new Comic Con is coming to the Tees Valley and it’s being held on Saturday 1st February. So Hopetown Darlington Comic Con is offering a perfect day out for those with self-proclaimed geeks in the family, with walkabout characters like R2D2, Tyne Tees Ghostbusters and Art the Clown from Terrifier, as well as photo opportunities, market traders and celebrity appearances. I’ve heard that Phil Fletcher and Hacker T Dog from CBBC will be there, which is very exciting, if you ask me. The star attraction will be the DeLorean DMC car, made famous, of course, by the Back To The Future films, making for the most iconic photo opportunity. Tickets for the day are £5 per adult and £3 for children under 17, so don’t miss out on this. Get booking on the Hopetown Darlington website.
Gateshead Toy, Train and Sci-Fi Fair – Gateshead International Stadium – Sun 2nd Feb
Keeping up with the theme of science fictiony things, we’ve got the Toy, Train and Sci-Fi Fair at Gateshead International Arena on Sunday 2nd February, which will be perfect if you’re a collector or love a bit of memorabilia. There’s going to be over 240 tables to browse, each one offering buy, sell or swap with lots of familiar toy names, like Hornby trains, Corgi and Matchbox, to popular fandoms, like Doctor Who and James Bond. There’ll also be a working model train exhibit that you can go along and see for inspiration or just to marvel at the engineering. Tickets are £4 for adults and £3 for under-16s, and it’s pay on the door, so you don’t need to worry about booking any tickets, just do make sure you take some cash along for entry and in case you want to grab any new things for your collection.
Calamity Jane – Sunderland Empire – Tues 4th to Sat 8th Feb
Calamity Jane is blowing in from the Windy City and landing in Sunderland Empire from Tuesday 4th to Saturday 8th February with a brand new production. Multi-award winning West End actress, Carrie Hope Fletcher, plays the fearless and gun slinging Calamity Jane, who’s got the biggest mouth in the Dakota territory and is always up for a fight. But when the men of Deadwood fall hard for Chicago stage star Adelaid Adams, Calamity struggles to keep her jealousy holstered. It’s such a fun and light hearted musical, so it’s definitely one to keep on your radars if you’re looking for a trip to the theatre over the next week and you can get tickets on the Sunderland Empire website.
Whitby Steampunk Weekend – Whitby Pavilion – Fri 7th to Sun 9th Feb
The Whitby Steampunk Weekend is back for its 17th year and it’s considered as one of the biggest steampunk events in the UK. This is being held from Friday 7th to 9th at the Whitby Pavilion, and you can expect a full weekend of pure extravagance and whimsy. There’ll be over 70 traders to shop from, as well as live entertainment, a quiz, a fashion show and so much more. And of course, this is an event that invites you to get dressed up to the nines, so if you’re a fan of the steampunk look, this is the perfect opportunity to put on your very best. This is a family-friendly event with free entry during the day, so go and check it out.
Make sure you check back next week for more amazing events!
