Today we take a look at the three great organisations shortlisted in the Community Event category of the Examiner Community Awards. The winner will be revealed at the awards night on Wednesday, June 3, at the John Smith’s Stadium. Coming tomorrow ... the three nominations to make the final in Services To Community are revealed.

Cummins Turbo Technologies is sponsoring the Community Event Award.

Cummins has a long history in Huddersfield on the St Andrews Road site where the Turbocharger Company was original founded in 1952.

What started out as one of Huddersfield’s quirkiest festivals has become one of its most popular.

From humble beginnings, Slaithwaite Moonraking Festival has put the Colne Valley town on the map as this spectacular night time event draws visitors from far and wide.

An enchanting procession of twinkling lights illuminates the night sky during this week-long festival, which this February celebrated its 30th anniversary.

The Moon is danced along the streets to the sound of samba drums and jazz bands. People wave from windows and come out of their houses to cheer as the lantern carnival passes by.

The festival celebrates the centuries-old stories of Moonrakers, one of which tells of a band of smugglers hiding their illegal bounty brought in by narrow boat under the canal bridge.

On the night of a full moon they went to fish out one of the barrels of rum with rakes, but were caught in the act by the local militia. The men avoided arrest by claiming to be ‘Moonraking’ the reflection of the full moon.

The event, nominated by Gill Bond, was set up in 1985 by Satellite Arts, staged biennially and is now an independent charitable organisation run by local people. It has developed from a small half-term activity involving young children and their families to an innovative and nationally renown community festival involving, music, art, storytelling, and live performances. It has appeared on national television and in numerous event publications

The lantern-making workshops are run by local artists and volunteers throughout February half-term and this year more than 950 adults and children of all ages attended. They created 215 beautiful sculptural lanterns depicting international landmarks.

Organisers are keen to involve young people and this year ran workshops at Colne Valley High School where students made giant floating lanterns inspired by the Easter Island figures.

Teenagers at Slaithwaite Basement Youth Hub made a giant processional birthday cake which formed the centre-piece of the firework finale.

Slaithwaite’s Moonraking Festival is truly a community event for people of all ages.

In the space of just four years the Huddersfield parkrun has firmly established itself as one of the leading events in the country.

Set up in 2011 by Kirklees Council, the weekly event kicks off at 9am every Saturday morning.

Several hundred runners of all abilities aged between four and 80 descend on Greenhead Park to take part in the 5k run.

The event currently attracts more than 600 participants every week making it the second most popular in the country after the original Bushy Parkrun in Teddington.

Quite impressive, considering there are now around 200 taking place every week in the UK, and the phenomenon is spreading abroad.

The runners turn up come rain or shine, even on Christmas Day, along with dozens of dedicated volunteer marshals who give up their time to ensure everything runs smoothly. The only time the event is cancelled is in icy conditions.

Juniors and regular runners can earn the prestigious T-shirts – red for 10 runs, black for 100, and black and gold for 250 runs. Although the event hasn’t been running that long yet there are some keen enthusiasts who are determined to get their black and gold T-shirts.

Today Simon Brass and Mark Nicholson organise the event – and take part whenever possible.

Mark said :”It is a real community event. It is about making running accessible to everyone – and it’s free.

“It has been a huge success and is still getting bigger. We get really fast runners from the local running clubs as well as people who come for a jog and a chat with their friends on the way round.

“People come from all ages and all walks of life. We all cheer and clap the runners. It is fantastic. A lot of people say they really look forward to their weekly fix of Park Run, especially after a hard week at work!”

University students are helping to make a difference in Huddersfield.

Dozens of Huddersfield University students volunteer to give up their time for a day every term to help people of all ages and backgrounds in and around the town.

Students at the Heart of Hud is an event which runs every term organised by the volunteering team at Huddersfield Students’ Union.

Around 100 young people volunteer and each one gets the chance to help at one of five volunteering opportunities covering a wide range of activities and community needs.

Each student is provided with a free breakfast, packed lunch, volunteering T-shirt and travel – and then help the local community for the day. Three events have already been held, amounting to 18,000 hours of unpaid community work.

The most recent Students at the Heart of Hud day took place on Saturday, March 3 when volunteers tidied up, painted and decorated at Slaithwaite Scout Hut, helped at Ponderosa Rural Therapeutic Centre, helped run a children’s Disney-themed fundraising day at The Zone, ran craft activities and circle dancing for adults with disabilities at Leonard Cheshire and gardened at Ashbrow School in Sheepridge.

Previous events have included churchyard tidying, helping at a community fair, packing hampers for the Forget Me Not Children’s Hospice and painting and decorating Dewsbury Community Centre. The response from beneficiaries has been fantastic.

Rebecca Milne, of Huddersfield Students’ Union, nominated Students at the Heart of Hud – but she isn’t the only one to notice the good work.

Bob Cryan, Vice Chancellor of Huddersfield University, tweeted: “Congratulations to all @HudSUVolunteers for making a difference in our community.”

One to benefit was Oxfam Online in Batley who said: “Today has been a great success. Thank you to all our students and volunteers who gave up their time to help us.”

The scheme has been so successful that more are in the pipeline, guaranteeing major future investment by Huddersfield University students in their local community.