Hull’s own Wonder Woman is ready and waiting to join a cast of comic book characters heading to the city centre for some superhero half-term fun.
Trish Bolton, a supervisor at cult entertainment store Forbidden Planet, will take to the streets with colleagues on Wednesday 31 May to welcome the likes of Superman, Spiderman, Captain America, Batman and more for Superhero Day.
The action will unfold from 10am until 4pm in Queen Victoria Square and King Edward Street and is the first in a series of summer events organised by HullBID to support city centre businesses.
Still to come is a repeat of last year’s hugely successful Dino Day, which will take place on Friday 4 August, and the return of the Hulloween Steampunk Festival over the weekend of 20 to 22 October.
Hull Street Food Nights is also back from Thursday 1 June and will feature about 30 different food vendors and an entertainment package which will include live music, DJ sets and free glitter face painting. The events – all in Zebedee’s Yard and Princes Dock Street – will also take place on Thursday 29 June, Thursday 27 July and Thursday 28 September.
Kathryn Shillito, HullBID Executive Director, said: “The events have been carefully devised to provide free fun for all the family at a time when they need it most – during the school holidays.
“Dino Day was a massive hit last year and we are delighted to be able to bring it back. The Hulloween Steampunk Festival was a quirky addition to our programme last year and proved so popular that we moved quickly to book the dates for this year.
“Superhero Day is new to Hull but we know from the fantastic response we’ve had already that it’s going to pull the crowds. That’s great news for businesses who appreciate the upturn in business, and especially for those that are joining in.”
Dinsdales Joke & Trick Shop, Gravity trampoline centre, Karamel takeaway and Samsara fair trade gifts will all have stands in Queen Victoria Square and Specsavers will have a stall outside their store in Jameson Street.
Wonder Woman was created in 1941 for DC Comics, which are just some of the items available at Forbidden Planet’s store in the Prospect Centre. The Wonder Woman legend is about the Amazon female warriors nursing a United States Air Force pilot back to health after his plane crashed. Wonder Woman took the pilot back to the United States and adopted a secret identity.
Trish revealed that her reality is rather different: “My son got me into it! I used to drive him to cosplay events and I got fed up of sitting in the car waiting so I decided to take part.
“I’ve been doing it for five years. You can cosplay at any age. You see people in their 70s dressed as Batman and Robin. We’re planning to hold some cosplay days in the store because there’s a lot of interest in it.”
Adam Wright, assistant manager at Forbidden Planet, said: “We opened here in November and things have been going really well with some customers coming in several times a week to make sure they don’t miss anything. We have something new in pretty much every other day and we’re building a community of fans.
“Superhero Day is a great idea. It fits really well with everything we do and the themes are so popular that we’re sure it will attract a lot of people. We’re looking forward to welcoming a lot of people to our stall and to watching Trish doing some cosplay.”
