2025 is our 30th anniversary!
Celebrate with us throughout the year with our 30th anniversary events…
30th Anniversary Summer Film Festival – from July 18th
Anniversary Party! – Saturday 11th October
30th Anniversary Raffle – to be drawn mid October
With 30 prizes for our 30 years including a private film screening with dinner for two from Wild Zucchinis, a house concert from At The Drop of Another Hippopotamus, bespoke glass art, a voucher for The Kirkstile + a case of beer and many more! Raffle entry is £5 either online or through our box office.
Seller registration is now open for our Autumn 2025 Cockfrock event. This ever popular sale of pre-loved ladies fashions and accessories is the biggest pop up sale of it’s kind in the North West! For more information on being a seller with Cockfrock click here.
The Kirkgate Centre is an entertainment and cultural venue at the heart of the lively community of Cockermouth, Cumbria.
We celebrate our local talent and heritage, and bring top quality professional entertainment to our town and many other communities across the area to the west of the Lake District National Park.
Whether you enjoy films on a big screen, live music, theatre, exhibitions, shows for children and families or community events, Kirkgate has something for everyone. Our quirky character makes us a special venue for weddings, parties, festivals and conferences.
Our mission:
“Creative talent is valued, developed, and supported with opportunities for all to actively engage with and enjoy the arts, our local heritage and community life”
Our values:
Commitment – Our staff and volunteers are dedicated to delivering our mission.
Inclusion – We aim to make art, heritage, and culture accessible to all our communities.
Sustainability – We aim to ensure that the organisation is secure for future generations from both financial and environmental perspective.
Nurturing – We aim to provide an environment that encourages growth, development of skills confidence and enjoyment for all.
WHAT’S ON
30th Anniversary Film Festival: Life of A Mountain – A Year on Blencathra (U) plus Q&A
1st August 2025 7:00pm (Doors open at 6:00 pm)
Kirkgate Centre
2017 Life of A Mountain – A Year on Blencathra plus Q&A The Director’s cut not the BBC version. The film sees award-winning film-maker Terry Abraham return to the Lake District to showcase 'the people's mountain' – Blencathra. The result is this spectacular documentary with stunning time-lapse sequences of this unique landscape which will inspire newcomers and regular visitors alike. ...
30th Anniversary Film Festival: Gulliver’s Travels (PG)
2nd August 2025 2:00pm (Doors open at 1:00 pm)
Kirkgate Centre
2010 Gulliver’s Travels (PG) Another famous popular story. The film is very loosely based on Jonathan Swift’s 18th century novel of the same name. Lemuel Gulliver (Jack Black) has been working in the mail room of a New York daily newspaper for the past ten years. One day, after having finally had enough, he decides to declare his love to ...
30th Anniversary Film Festival: Glorious 39 (12A)
2nd August 2025 4:30pm (Doors open at 3:30 pm)
Kirkgate Centre
2009 – Glorious 39 (12A) Set in the idyllic British countryside just before the start of the Second World War. The story revolves around the formidable Keyes family, who are keen to uphold and preserve their very traditional way of life. When the eldest sibling Anne stumbles across secret recordings her seemingly perfect life begins to dramatically unravel. “Poliakoff cleverly ...
30th Anniversary Film Festival: Children of Men (15)
2nd August 2025 7:30pm (Doors open at 6:30 pm)
Kirkgate Centre
2006 – Children of Men (15) Children of Men was nominated for best adapted screenplay at the Oscars. A dystopian action thriller based on the 1992 novel of the same name by P D James. When infertility threatens mankind with extinction and the last child born has perished, a disillusioned bureaucrat (Clive Owen) becomes the unlikely champion in the fight ...