2008 Festival Programme
Key to Events Programme:
Events listed are colour coded, with each one relating to a different aspect of the Festival.
Main Performance
Workshops & Walks
Scene in the Street
Festival in the Field
Performance in the Pub
Art and About
Every Thursday for 6 weeks starting Thu 1 May | Town Hall | 7.30pm | Tickets £30 for full course
Swing Jive classes
A 6 week course of swing jive classes with Tallulah and Shck Shaking Jack – great exercise, great music and great fun.
Learn the moves to some fantastic tunes, all standards of dancer welcome and no partner required.
Fri 13th June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £22
Courtney Pine and his band
"In A Class of His Own" THE TIMES
It's almost two decades since Courtney Pine journeyed to the urge within and released a shock-and-awe debut album that put contemporary jazz in the British Top 40 album charts for the first time. Nothing since has distracted Courtney from a very personal journey that has provided the soundscape to a tour of his influences and life experiences. He is a multi-award winning artist and now broadcaster with a live touring history that has brought his sound to audiences across the World and across genres. It's a combination that's come to characterise the Courtney sound – an inclusive vision of a living and breathing UK jazz.bringing together jazz, reggae, hip hop and drum and bass influences in a totally inclusive way.
"Pine maintains his pivotal and inspirational role at the forefront of British Jazz" BLUE & SOUL
"A walking encyclopaedia of advanced saxophony" THE GUARDIAN
"The UK's most important jazz instrumentalist" OBSERVER
Courtney Pine’s set will be preceded by Dales Jam. A 15+ piece energetic community jazz orchestra
Do book early to avoid disappointment.
Sat 14 June | National Park Centre, Hebden Road | 2pm | Tickets £2
Village Heritage Trail
Who was Tom Lee? What were Jakeys? This will be revealed during a walk in and around Grassington together with other aspects of the agricultural and industrial history of Grassington.
Easy walking approx 2 hours. Meet at the Tourist Information centre, YDNP Car Park, Hebden Road, Grassington. (sorry no dogs allowed and U16s to be accompanied by an adult)
In association with the Yorkshire Dales National Park
Limited spaces so please telephone the box office to reserve a place and pay £2 on the day
Sat 14 June | YDNP Car Park | 10.30am -3.30pm | Tickets £16
YDNP Dry Stone Walling
With Phil Richards and associates from the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Learn the basic skills of the art of dry stone walling. Find out how this craft has been used to form an integral part of the Yorkshire Dales landscape.
Meet at the Tourist Information Centre, Yorkshire Dales National Park Car Park, Hebden Road, Grassington.
Please wear suitable strong footwear (not trainers), sturdy gloves and bring a packed lunch.
Sat 14 June | Town Hall and The Square | 9.30am- 5pm
BIG DAY OF DANCE
Join in our BIG DAY OF DANCE celebrating all the fun and joy that dance can bring. An assured day of smiles for all ages and abilities. Take part in one of our classes in the morning – all led by dance experts and find out which dance you enjoy the most from exuberant contemporary street dancing, exotic belly dancing traditional clog dancing and high energy jive and swing Guaranteed to put a smile on your face and a swing in your step.
In the afternoon you can put your own feet up and watch the professionals strut their stuff as they perform on our dance stage in the square.
Sat 14 June | The Games Room, Town Hall | 9.30am | Tickets £5
Belly Dancing
Millions of women in dozens of countries enjoy belly dancing a dance which predates both Islam and the development of culture that now dominates the Arabian peninsula. Many enjoy belly dance as a therapeutic form of keeping fit, and in many countries it is the favoured form of exercise for girls and women. Anyone can do it and it is enormous fun, so come along and enjoy the pleasure of learning how its done.
Sat 14 June | The Games Room, Town Hall | 11.30am | Tickets £5
Clog Dancing
Learn a traditional routine and steps in the Lancashire clog dancing style. The steps are neat and varied and are danced ‘high on the toe’ and you will be following in the footsteps of many northern clog dancing champions by beginning in this way.
Beginners will be fine with flat, hard soled shoes. Clogs must have bare wooden soles.
Sat 14 June | The Games Room, Town Hall | 11.30am | Tickets £5
Jive and Swing Dancing
A beginners guide to swing jive, huge fun and energetic – learn, practice and enjoy this sociable dance with the experts. Get in the swing and have some fun!
Sat 14 June | The Octogan, Town Hall | 12.30am | Tickets £5
Street Dancing
UDC`s Urban Fusion dance team, a highly talented group of professional Hip Hop, Breakdancers. Picked for their unbeatable skill, passion, slick choreography and explosive freestyle tricks. Urban Fusion artistes have performed with well known music artistes, commercials, Television and brands.
Come along and learn the basics of street dance from these amazing dancers.
Sat 14 June | The Square | 10.30am - 12.30pm | Tickets FREE
Bradford Grammar School Concert Band
Conductor: David Roberts
We welcome accomplished wind, brass and percussion players coming from one of Yorkshire’s finest schools to begin the Scenes in the Streets series. A fine selection of music to start your weekend.
Sat 14 June | The Square | 12.30 – 3pm | Tickets FREE
Dancing in the Street
Come along and enjoy performances and demonstrations in the pretty village square by: Urban Fusion (street dance company); Egyptia (belly dancers); Tallulah and Shack Shaking Jack (jive and swing dancers) and The Lancashire Wallopers (clog dancers).
Sat 14 June | The Square | 3 – 5pm | Tickets FREE
North Stars Steel Orchestra
The rhythms and music of the steel pan will transport Grassington to the Caribbean for the joyful music and atmosphere this group carry with them wherever they go. Come just to listen or to dance in the street to these evocative sounds of warmer climes.
Sat 14 June | Town Hall | 2pm – 4pm | Tickets £9
Tea Dance with the Trafford Four
The glamour of ballroom dancing has swept the nation so come and dance your cares away in time honoured tradition, from waltzes to foxtrots, sequence to ballroom the Trafford Four will carry you to the era of elegance and style.
Sat 14 June | St Michael and All Angels Church, Linton Falls | 2pm | Tickets £10
Singing Workshop with Stile Antico
A chance to explore and have fun with your vocal abilities. After a physical physical and vocal workshop and a brief introduction to the historical background of the music to be worked on Stile Antico members will work with the group in Grassington to enable and empower them to produce quality music acappella. Though no formal musical experience is necessary, participants should love singing and be willing and enthusiastic!
Suitable for over 12s. All children should be accompanied by an adult. Limited places so do book early
Sat 14 June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £16
King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys
A chance to jive and swing along to fantastic Swing band, King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys. This inimitable six piece will deliver a shot of pure and authentic Jazz and Blues from a bygone era, when Swing was King. King Pleasure present a breathtaking mix of 1940`s Kansas City sounds in a truly exhilarating, swinging non-stop live stage performance. These guys have thousands of shows and numerous albums under their crown and have enjoyed huge critical acclaim from both the press and many fans worldwide. ‘The legendary King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys zany stage show sometimes belies the fact that here is the finest, most authentic Jazz Swing and Rhythm and Blues band ever to come from outside of the USA`
A swinging night guaranteed! This event is bound to be popular so get your dancing shoes on and book early!
Please note this is a dance event and therefore seating will be limited to allow plenty of room for jiving and swinging!
Sat 14 June | St Michael’s Church, Linton | 8pm | Tickets £18
Stile Antico
As an young and dynamic British vocal ensemble, grammy nominees, Stile Antico are now established as one of the most original and exciting new voices in their field. Working without a conductor, the members of Stile Antico rehearse and perform as chamber musicians, each contributing artistically to the musical result. In the beautiful setting of St Michael’s , this concert is certain to be atmospheric and enchanting.
Programme ‘Song of Songs’ - a selection of sumptuous settings of the beautiful texts from this biblical book.
"...absolutely ravishing performances" Classics Today
"...the singing is staggeringly beautiful" The Sunday Times
Sat 14 and Sun 15 June | Grassington Primary School | 10am to 3pm / 10am to 12pm | Tickets FREE
Exhibition of Children’s Art
Seven local Primary Schools, Arncliffe, Beamsley, Burnsall, Cracoe, Grassington, Kettlewell and Threshfield, collectively known as the Upper Wharfedale Cluster, present their bi-annual exhibition of a rich variety of children’s art in both two and three dimensions and in a wide range of different media. Do please support this exhibition of work by local young people. We are sure that you will find the work on show an inspiration.
Sun 15 June | The Square | 10.30am - 12.30pm | Tickets £5
Sun 15 June | Town Hall | 10.30am | Tickets FREE
Festival Service
Featuring Stile Antico
Guest Speaker: the Precentor of York Minster, the Reverend Canon Jeremy Fletcher
Coffee, sherry and friendship to follow
Sun 15 June | The Skate Park, Hebden Road, Grassington | 2pm | Tickets FREE
Dodge City
Come along to ‘Dodge City’ - Grassington Festival’s Youth Arts and Music session. A fusion of random action, activities, fun and creativity suitable for teenagers. Don’t miss out – its all for FREE!!
Sun 15 June | The Fountaine Inn, Linton | 2.30 – 4.30 pm | Tickets FREE
The Real Macaws
Featuring stunning musicianship performed with humour and professionalism, The Real Macaws have been delivering their smooth, intoxicating blend of Caribbean, African and South American dance music with a Jazz twist for more than ten years and are now established as firm favourites for festivals all over the country.
"A blast of brass and radiant plumage - just the thing to get people to smile, stop in their tracks, forget what they were meant to be doing and enjoy a few stolen moments of tropical paradise" Manchester International Arts.
Parking in Linton Village is limited, so please use the car park at Linton Falls and enjoy a pleasant walk up to the village green.
Sun 15 June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £20
'The Pity of War' Martin Roscoe, Matthew Trusler and Timothy West
A stirring and thought provoking evening of Janacek, Debussy and Elgar Sonatas performed by one of the most acclaimed concert pianists Martin Rosoce and young violinist Matthew Trusler, which will be interspersed with poetry and letters by Wilfred Owen, read by the notable actors Timothy West. An enormously moving programme, the narration will serve emotively to place these significant sonatas in the context of the time in which they were written. The Pity of War was originally launched to great praise in a performance at the Imperial War Museum, we a re delighted to present such a remarkable performance at the Festival.
Tickets will be in high demand so do book early.
Mon 16 June | The Octagon | 10am to 3pm | Tickets £20
Mon 16 June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £16
Blazin Fiddles
Like rare single malts, each member of Blazin' Fiddles draws the distinct flavour of music from their part of the highlands and islands. From solo to ensemble sets, they all come together in a fiery blend that will raise the roof. Fiddlers Catriona Macdonald, Bruce Macgregor, Allan Henderson, Iain Macfarlane and Aidan O'Rourke will be joined by Marc Clement on guitar and Andy Thorburn on keyboard to form one of the best live acts today.
"Five individually superb fiddlers...theirs is a mighty sound" - The Scotsman
**** "Absolutely mindblowing" – Mike Harding, Radio 2
SOLD OUT
Mon 16 June | Congregational Church | 7.30pm | Tickets £5
La Vie En Rose
Olivier Dahan's sizeable biopic of French singer Edith Piaf is not shy of a poor-girl-turned-diva plot. Piaf (which translates as 'sparrow') lived a colourful, hectic life and Dahan has created a film to reflect this, but his fractured portrait of the singer is centred by some glorious samples of her music and a sterling oscar winning central performance from Marion Cotillard.
Last few tickets remaining - please contact box office 01756 752691
Mon 16 June | The Craven Arms | 8pm | Tickets £20
Beer Tasting with Jane Peyton
The Battle of the Bottle - If you thought beer was a brew drunk only by beardy wierdies with huge bellies, think again. The world’s oldest alcoholic drink is also the most widely consumed on earth. Beer has a fascinating history and place in human culture.
In addition to introducing people to the art of beer tasting, Jane will chat about the history of beer, including plenty of fascinating facts and anecdotes in a session that is educational and highly entertaining.
Jane Peyton is an author, journalist, public speaker, she produces and hosts beer and wine tasting events many clients including Gordon Ramsay; London Food Link; Publican Live; Fuller Smith & Turner brewers. She has also presented beer tastings on BBC Radio.
Sponsored by The Craven Arms
Tue 17 June | The Octagon | 10am to 3pm | Tickets £20
Tue 17 June | The Devonshire Hotel, Grassington | 8.30pm | Tickets FREE
Gentle Jazz
Join Grassington’s favourites for an evening of much-loved jazz standards featuring a surprise special guest appearance by superb jazz guitarist Derrick Harris.
Sponsored by The Devonshire Arms, Grassington
Tue 17 June | Congregational Church | 7.30pm | Tickets £5
Short Film Screenings
A selection of quirky, funny, and frightening films from today's upcoming filmmakers. With everything from drama to animation, thriller to experimental, there is something here for everyone. Come along and cast your vote to give the most talented new director the Grassington Festival Audience Film Award.
There are some scenes of a sexual nature.
Tue 17 June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £16
Joanna MacGregor
Internationally renowned, Mercury prize nominated and one of the most sought after concert pianists, Joanna MacGregor is thought of as one of the world’s most wide-ranging and innovative musicians and has pursued a life connecting many genres. She has performed in over sixty countries and has often appeared as a solo artist with the world's leading orchestras. We are delighted to have finally persuaded Joanna to visit Grassington and this recital will be captivating and one not to be missed.
"Joanna MacGregor’s career is practically built on a reinvention of the star virtuoso tradition" - BBC Classical Review
Programme
Traditional arr. MacGregor - Lost Highways (Gospel music & spirituals)
Piazzolla arr. MacGregor - Six Tangos
Bach Goldberg Variations
Wed 18 June | The Octagon | 10am to 3pm | Tickets £20
Printmaking with Philippa Troutman
See Art and About Page for full details
Wed 18 June | The Devonshire Arms, Grassington | 9pm | Tickets £5
Murray Lachlan Young
‘Where’s your million pound record deal now, poet boy?’
Don’t miss this late night version of his acclaimed stand-up poetry. It was ten years ago that Murray Lachlan Young shot to fame on the back of an unprecedented one million pound poetry record deal with EMI records. Then he completely withdrew from performing and went to live in a wood ! Now living in Penzance over the last four years he has been writing and performing again and he is now a regular poet on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live.
His caustic take on contemporary life remains at the centre of his material and his show will include old favorites like ‘The Closet Heterosexual’, ‘Simply Everyone's Taking Cocaine’, ‘The Life And Death Of Art’. Plus new pieces like ‘Big Ron's Big Night Out’, a treatise on beach wear ‘To The Thong’; ‘Keef Don't Go’ an ode to Keith Richards and, of course, his very popular poem about ecologically sustainable sex-aids.
"As good as it gets. Masterful." - The Herald
A great opportunity not to let pass
Note: May contain rude words and grown-up themes, so not for the easily offended or under 16s.
No need to book – tickets on sale on the evening
Sponsored by The Devonshire Arms, Grassington
Wed 18 June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £20
Barry Cryer ‘Still Alive’
Only the very,very best return to Grassington and we are delighted to welcome back Barry Cryer in his show ‘Still Alive’ with Colin Sell. Enjoy recollections, reminiscences, recounts and other words beginning with ‘R’, on a trip down Memory lane, pausing only for tea and macaroons at the Stannah Stairlift Café. What memories – if only he can remember them. Jokes, songs, stories and perhaps, Pole Vaulting, if his friend Vaclev from Warsaw turns up.
Currently 72, a third of his life has already passed and he invites you to join him in a decorous orgy of nostalgia.
Join Baz as he wanders through his life – and yours. Two hours of chuckle therapy – all patients seen immediately.
Early booking recommended.
SOLD OUT
Thu 19 June | Town Hall | 10.30am & 1.30pm | Tickets FREE
Murray Lachlan Young
Modern Cautionary Tales for Children
A stand-up interactive poetry show, an hilarious mixture of poetry, stand up comedy, story telliing and a touch of (ssh) pantomime shows that poetry can be fun, thought-provoking and occasionally quite cool. Exploring playground bullies to disco dancing ponies this show gets the audience on its feet and rhyming out loud! Suitable for 5 – 10s
Limited seating – local school parties take priority
Thu 19 June | The Octagon | 10.30am & 1.30pm | Tickets FREE
The Selfish Crocodile
The Selfish Crocodile is a funny, charming and intelligent story with a very happy ending, to remind us all that it's the smallest acts of kindness that often have the greatest impact. Suitable for 4 -7s. Presented by Blunderbus Theatre Company
Limited seating – local school parties take priority
Thu 19 June | The Foresters | 9pm | Tickets FREE
Coaltrain
Coaltrain will steam in to Grassington, on time, to play a heady mix of rock n roll, country and rockabilly mixed in with a good dose of west coast rock - a feel good evening is for certain.
Sponsored by The Foresters Arms, Grassington
Thu 19 June | Congregational Church | 7.30pm | Tickets £5
Atonement
Golden Globe Winner - Best Picture
14 BAFTA Award Nominations
7 Academy Award Nominations
"Nothing short of a masterpiece" - Grazia
"Sumptuous" - The Independent
The film opens in England in 1935, on the hottest day of the year. In the looming shadow of World War II Briony Tallis and her family live a life of wealth and privilege in their enormous Victorian Gothic mansion.
As the family gathers for the weekend the combination of the oppressive hear and long suppressed emotions coming to the surface create an ominous sense of threat and danger. Briony, a fledgling writer, is a girl with a vivid imagination. Through a series of catastrophic misunderstandings she accuses Robbie Turner, the housekeeper's son and lover of her sister Cecilia, of a crime he did not commit.
By the end of that day the lives of all three will have been changed forever.
Thu 19 June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £15
An Evening with Stephen Venables
One of the best known mountaineers of his generation, Stephen Venables was the first Briton to climb Everest without oxygen – just one of many pioneering climbs throughout the Himalaya and other mountain ranges around the world. His first book Painted Mountains won the Boardman Tasker Award; reviewing his most recent work , A Slender Thread, the Observer praised his »novelist’s sense of dramatic punch ». As well as eight books, he has written for all the major national newspapers and appeared in numerous television programmes, incuding the recent BBC Mountain Men series, for which he climbed the Matterhorn in Victorian tweeds and nailed boots, and the BBC’s Race for Everest. His most recent overseas project was retracing Ernest Shackleton’s steps across South Georgia for the IMAX movie Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure. A master storyteller and skilful photographer, his illustrated lectures have inspired audiences all around the world. An exhilarating evening assured.
Fri 20 June | The Octagon | 2pm | Tickets £6
Rowena Harker Leder
Life Definitely Begins again at 50!’ Rowena Harker Leder MBE or simply Bunty as she is known locally was born in Grassington but travelled the world for 32 years, first as a Bluebell girl, then as a stewardess with BOAC throughout the ‘swinging sixties’. She then returned home to Yorkshire and became the Artistic Director of the Grassington Festival until 2005. Filled with fun and amusement this hours talk will provide a fascinating incite into 18 years of the Grassington festival.
Fri 20 June | The Black Horse, Grassington | 8pm | Tickets FREE
Midnight Shift
Back to the 50s and 60s - hand jive, dance and swing the night away with Midnight Shift – a return visit by Yorkshire’s own renowned rock and roll duo.
Sponsored by The Black Horse Hotel, Grassington
Fri 20 June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £18
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain
Using instruments bought with loose change, The Ukulele Orchestra believe that all genres of music are available for reinterpretation, as long as they are played on the Ukulele. In concert they are a funny, virtuosic, twanging, foot-stomping obituary of rock-n-roll and melodious light entertainment. Whatever your taste in music - Tchaikovsky, Nirvana, Kate Bush, The Sex Pistols, Otis Redding - there's something in the line-up that'll get your toes tapping.
With sell-out concerts wherever they go, don’t let this chance to catch the group the nation is talking about pass you by.
Early booking recommended.
SOLD OUT
Sat 21 June | Grass Woods | 4.30am | Tickets £10
Dawn Chorus Walk and Concert
Rise with the lark as you join an experienced guide on an enchanting early morning walk through Grass Woods listening to the summer’s birdsong. Once at the top of the woods, settle down and enjoy a concert of fitting and uplifting music from a wonderful string quartet while soaking in the a beautiful view of the dale as the sun rises.
A cup of refreshing tea at The Yorkshire Lass is included in ticket price, do book ahead at the tea room if you would like a hearty breakfast after your walk.
Meet at Grass Woods car park 4.25am.
Sorry, so as not to disturb the birds, no dogs allowed but genuinely interested and accompanied children are welcome.
Do bring a travelling seat or cushion for comfort during the performance.
Sat 21 June | YDNP Car Park | 10.30am - 3.30pm | Tickets £16
YDNP Dry Stone Walling
With Phil Richards and associates from the Yorkshire Dales National Park.
Learn the intermediate skills of the art of dry stone walling. Find out how this craft has been used to form an integral part of the Yorkshire Dales landscape.
Meet at the Tourist Information Centre, Yorkshire Dales National Park Car Park, Hebden Road, Grassington.
Please wear suitable strong footwear (not trainers), sturdy gloves and bring a packed lunch.
Sat 21 June | Town Hall | 10am to 4pm | Tickets £20
Sat 21 June | Buckden | 11am | Tickets £2
Haymeadows and Waterfalls walk
Haymeadows & Waterfalls – A Discovery Walk
A delightful guided 7.5 mile (12km) walk through the flowering and grassy meadows and alongside the tumbling streams of Upper Wharfedale returning to Buckden at a higher level which offers superb views of the dale.
Meet at Buckden car park. Sorry no dogs allowed and U16s to be accompanied by an adult.
Limited spaces so please telephone the box office to reserve a place and pay £2 on the day
In association with the Yorkshire Dales National Park
Sat 21 June | The Square | 10.00am – 12.00 pm | Tickets FREE
Harrogate Youth Jazz Orchestra
Enjoy a summer morning’s joyous jazz with the enthusiastic and talented Harrogate Youth Jazz Orchestra, who are always welcome regulars to Grassington Festival.
Sat 21 June | The Square | 12.30pm – 5pm | Tickets FREE
International Street Theatre
The streets of Grassington will come alive with a riot of colour, energy and excitement, transforming The Square into a stage for talented performers from all over the world, including Paka and his incredible fire-breathing horse from France and Canadian puppets pranks and pantomime with Mr Bunk. Not forgetting the Fairly Famous Family who will have travelled all the way from Cumbria ! The art of high quality street theatre is very mucha live and kicking, all about bringing a joie de vivre and excitement to every day life. This celebration is something to be enjoyed by the under9s to the over90s, so bring your family and friends and don’t miss out. In fact, why not make a day of it and enjoy the delights of Grassington’s tearooms and village hostelries.
There’ll be much much more too, so don’t miss this afternoon of mayhem mischief and merriment!
Sat 21 June | St Margaret Clitherow’s | 3pm | Tickets £9
The York Guitar Quartet
The York Guitar Quartet started performing as an ensemble in 1984. Since then they have toured extensively in the north of England where they have performed at arts centres, festivals, universities and many other venues and have broadcast on numerous TV and radio shows. All members of the quartet are professional performers and are interested in all genres of guitar music.
Afternoon tea is served at the end of the recital (included in the ticket price)
Sat 21 June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £20
Natasha Marsh
Don't miss this opportunity to catch the magic that is winning the hearts of the country and of fans around the world. Natasha Marsh is a celebrated and extremely well-respected soprano within the world of opera, however in less than a year she has become also a critically acclaimed No1 selling popular classical artist with her CD ‘Amour’ and is fast becoming one of the finest opera exports the UK has witnessed for decades. 2007 saw Natasha tour the UK with Russell Watson and perform European arena concerts with Il Divo. She also performed at a variety of prestigious events throughout the year with Gardar Cortes, Paul Potts and with some of the best orchestras in the world, such as The London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, The Halle and The Tokyo Philharmonic plus the televised production of The Last Night Of The Proms.
Her programme for Grassington will be passionate, expressive and romantic and includes much loved arias and popular pieces to melt the hardest of hearts and lift the spirits.
Tickets will go fast so book early to avoid disappointment.
The festival endeavours to support young people performing and Natasha’s performance will be preceeded this evening by the young and talented Yorkshire soprano, of whom we are sure we will hear more in the future, Lucy Watmough.
See Natasha's website www.natashamarsh.com for more information about her.
Sun 22 June | Town Hall | 11am to 4pm | Tickets FREE
The BIG Print
See Art and About Page for full details
Sun 22 June | Town Hall | 2pm | Tickets £5
Tashi Lhunpo Tibetan Monks
The monks will lead an innovative workshop in the Tibetan style of vocal projection sharing knowledge of the technique and the stories told through songs of Tibet's nomadic people.
Participants will learn simple Tibetan folk songs and investigate the ancient Tibetan art of "Lama Mani" dating from the 12th century. The Lama Mani tradition is the telling of Buddhist parables through song. The songs were performed by wandering storytellers who traveled from village to village, drawing on their own often humble origins to relate to people from all backgrounds.
A workshop to fascinate and illuminate.
Limited places so do book early.
Sun 22 June | Scargill | 2pm | Tickets £10
Musical Rocks
Amazing, magical and original are the sounds of rocks when played by talented musicians on Victorian and modern instruments made from rocks found in river beds, on mountain sides or hewn from quarries.
The programme will be include a variety of instruments expertly played by experienced musicians including Charlie Dale, Emma Wellsby and Gavin Bradshaw
It will also include account of history of the instruments by Jamie Barnes and local quarry connections by Bobbie Millar from Yorkshire Quarry Arts. An informative and entertaining afternoon is assured.
Sun 22 June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £14
Monks from the Tashi Lhunpo Monastery in Tibet
The sacred world of Tibet is filled with the chanting of Buddhist texts, the recitation of mantras, ringing of bells, clash of cymbals, booming of the great long horns and beating of drums. Tibetan monks from Tashi Lhunpo Monastery bring to Grassington the ‘ Power of Compassion’ a dramatic presentation, the of their unique sacred dances, music and prayers, with colourful traditional costumes and ceremonial masks. The performance will be complemented by explanatory introductions to each dance and chant, offering an insight into the life of the Monastery and the importance of its tradition.
A very special cultural event for family audiences 6 years +
Sun 22 June | Scargill | 8pm | Tickets £15
The Allegri Quartet
The Allegri Quartet is one of Britain's oldest Quartets, having been founded in 1954 recently celebrated its birthday with an appearance at Wigmore Hall to excellent reviews It has continued since the early days with various changes of personnel, but retaining its core values and repertoire deeply rooted in the classics. In 2008, the Quartet has numerous engagements in the UK, as well as invitations to Turkey and Canada, as well as its commitment to its 6 residencies in Universities throughout the UK. A quartet performance in the chapela t Scargill is always a joy.
Programme:
Bach 3 fugues from "The Art of Fugue"
Haydn Op 20 no 2
"...the shimmer and grace and intelligence of this ensemble is riveting" - The Independent on Sunday
Mon 23 June | Town Hall | 2pm | Tickets £12
Antiques Antics with Eric Knowles
Eric Knowles is one of those rare individuals who is able to share his extensive knowledge of the world of Antiques in a manner that is easily understood. With over twenty years working on the BBC’s flagship programme The Antiques Roadshow, Eric has become the friendly face of a business shrouded with no small element of mystery. Bring along your treasures and hidden heirlooms to assessed by Eric during the welcome session, the most interesting of which he will share and discuss later in the afternoon after some, quite often irreverent, anecdotes and reminiscences, which will be accompanied by excellent images, during which the lad from Lancashire will take the wraps off a business in which he has been immersed for over 30 years.
Eric is keen to assure all those bringing heirlooms that he for one will be drinking only Adam’s Ale until all are safely returned.
This will be an afternoon of much more than just – where, when and how much. Don’t miss it !
Mon 23 June | The Fountaine Inn, Linton | 7.30pm | Tickets £20
Wine Tasting with Joe Fattorini
'If Wharfedale was a wine region...' Taste your way through this not-so-unlikely prospect with Joe Fattorini, wine writer for The Herald newspaper - If global warming began to take effect, then Grassington in fact would be ideally placed to be in the midst of a stunning wine region, with all the right geology and landscape.
Many wonderful wines are produced in small villages similar to those in Wharfedale and Joe will present an opportunity to taste some, in an informative evening sprinkled with gossip and much jollity at the thought of a Linton dairy farmer producing a Grand Cru Burgundy and names like 'Boothman's Shiraz' or 'Dean's Fine Dry White' making £300 a bottle.
Joe Fattorini has been a wine writer for over twelve years and is an internationally renowned conference speaker and wine judge. A regular on television, he is the wine expert on BBC2's Castle in the Country and has presented for many years on BBC Radio Scotland.
Mon 23 June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £18
General Sir Mike Jackson
General Sir Mike Jackson's illustrious career in the British Army has spanned almost 45 years.
Known for his tough-talking and uncompromising style, he gave a hint of his pent-up frustrations when he delivered a blistering attack on the government in a recent Dimbleby lecture, accusing it of failing to meet the most basic needs of the country's soldiers who were risking their lives fighting unpopular wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
His recently published autobiography, Soldier, gives a vivid sense of what modern soldiering entails. Join him for an unmissable evening when he will talk at length, and take questions from the audience, about his remarkable life and career.
Do book early to avoid disappointment
SOLD OUT
Tue 24 June | The Craven, Appletreewick | 8pm | Tickets FREE
The Hut People
THE HUT PEOPLE are an accordion and percussion duo. The accordionist is Sam Pirt who plays with 422 who won the Radio 2 folk awards a few years back. Gary Hammond is the percussionist, who for the past 12 years has recorded and toured with The Beautiful South.
They both have a love of scandinavian, english and european folk tunes which are played with an accordion/multi percussion twist.
Sponsored by The Craven Arms
Tue 24 June | Octagon | 8pm | Tickets £5
Art History Lecture
‘Understanding Modern Art – from Realism to Abstraction’.
Lecturer: Alec Pearson
In an informative and none-highbrow way this richly illustrated lecture will explain most of the main developments in so-called “Modern Art” of the 20th. Century. It follows the movements in painting and sculpture from easily understandable, realistic works to what is now generally known as Abstract Art.
As well as a busy, widely exhibited contemporary artist painter and print-maker, resident artist for Northern Life magazine and an in-demand guest speaker for various art clubs and societies, Alec is lecturer in Art History at Skipton’s Craven College.
With his customary relaxed, occasionally humorous, engaging and highly knowledgeable delivery his lectures are never less than an educational and entertaining treat
Tue 24 June | Town Hall | 8pm | Tickets £12
Magna Carta
Without a doubt the greatest musical export to come out of the Dales., Magna Carta, founded by Chris Simpson, has toured some 61 countries and made 29 albums so far, selling 8,000,000 records. This will be their last Grassington Festival appearance as in May, 2009 they plan the final concert in Amsterdams's Royal Carre Theatre.
At the very peak of their peforming best, they will be in the stunning concert format of Chris, Linda and Matt that toured Switzerland; Canada; South Africa and 36 concerts in Holland last Autumn to ovations and sell-out crowds.
For this concert there will some stunning surprise guests.
Simpson has been called 'the English Paul Simon,' ( Fred Deller) MOJO.
Linda, 'the voice of an angel,' MUSICMAKER
Matt Barnhoorn has been referred to as ........the Johnny Depp of the mandolin, BUT, wait and see!
Wed 25 June | Festival Marquee | 8pm | Tickets £25
Aled Jones with the London Community Gospel Choir
A unique and fabulous opportunity to see Aled Jones and the award winning London Community Gospel choir perform in a programme especially created for Grassington. Aled Jones, the much loved and entertaining welsh tenor, has come a long way since recording ‘Walking in the Air’ at the age of 14, when he captured the hearts of the nation with his pure treble voice. He is much in demand on the radio and TV and meanwhile his singing career goes from strength to strength, a reflection of his ever-growing popularity. He recently signed a new record deal and performs regularly in concerts around the country to great acclaim.
The London Community Gospel Choir are known for their funky gospel flair, swing-beat, R'n'B, traditional and soulful arrangements, with invigorating choreography and vocal gymnastics. They are as outstanding to watch as to listen to.
The pairing of this wonderful singer and personality with this remarkable choir promises to generate a memorable treat of an evening , one not to be missed.
SOLD OUT
Thu 26 June | Festival Marquee | 8pm | Tickets £25
Clare Teal and the BBC Big Band
Singer, songwriter, BBC Radio 2 personality, and damned funny woman to boot, Clare Teal joins the world famous BBC Big Band in a special concert for Grassington.
Voted British Jazz Vocalist of the Year 2007 (and 2005 & 2006) and blessed with a stunning voice, Clare is a rare commodity - in every way the major star.
The BBC Big Band perform at the most wonderful venues around the globe and have won best Big Band in the British Jazz Awards many, many times, so what a superb combination of talent this evening will be, with sparkling new material, inspired interpretations of the great American songbook, plus a liberal sprinkling of crowd favourites, there promises to be joyous music and hearty laughs - guaranteed to put a big smile on your face. Not to be missed!
“Wonderful. Worth raving about.” - Sir Michael Parkinson
“She’s a triple threat! Please go out and buy Clare Teal’s record.” - Michael Bublé
"Clare has a timeless sound to her voice and classic touch and sound to her own songwriting. Now how modern is that? Music to melt to I'd say." - Jamie Cullum
“The New Queen of Swing” – Mail on Sunday
SOLD OUT
Fri 27 June | Festival Marquee | 8pm | Tickets £20
Dara O Briain
Following 2006’s sell out national tour and best selling DVD Dara O Briain ‘Live at the Theatre Royal’, award winning stand-up comedian Dara O Briain hits the road again with a brand new show. Host of BBC2’s Mock The Week, and star of Three Men and a Boat and as seen on Parkinson and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross.
"His set is a masterclass in intelligent, no-frills stand-up" - The Guardian
"If you don’t laugh at O Briain check your pulse you must be dead" - The Evening Standard
This tour will give the Grassington audience the chance to catch one the most charismatic, fast talking and down right funny live performers working today.
Book early to avoid disappointment.
SOLD OUT
Sat 28 June | National Park Centre, Hebden Road | 11am | Tickets £2
Iron Age and History Walk
Grassington in Former Times (Lea Green) - Discovery Walk
A fairly easy guided 5 mile (8km) walk to discover the origins of Grassington right back as far as the Iron Age and also see evidence of the lead mining industry. Easy walking approx 2 hours.
Meet at the Tourist Information centre, YDNP Car Park, Hebden Road, Grassington. (sorry no dogs allowed and U16s to be accompanied by an adult) In association with the Yorkshire Dales National Park
Limited spaces so please telephone the box office to reserve a place and pay £2 on the day
Sat 28 June | The Square | 10.30 – 12.30pm | Tickets FREE
Pinky Umbrella
Come sit & listen or chatter, dance, clap, sing, heckle or smile. Pinky Umbrella play overall fun music which appeals to all. They will put you in mind of sitting at a street cafe on a sunny boulevard listening to a mix of traditional Eastern European, Russian & French Tunes – an ideal way to start your weekend
Sat 28 June | The Square | 12pm and 4pm | Tickets FREE
Penny Plain Theatre
“The Entire History of the North”
Those Victorian ruffians collectively known as Hardcastle’s Mighty Excelsior Theatre Company are back, and ready to educate and morally uplift you with an Epic Tale of Everything (leaving out the boring bits...).
Penny Plain bring a unique and very funny show out into the streets of Grassington for your delight and entertainment.
Sat 28 June | Festival Marquee | 6.30pm | Tickets £25
Toyah Willcox + Dr & the Medics – Back to the 80s
Last Night Celebrations and Party
Getting the party started will be infamous local band Mid-life Crisis then transporting Grassington back to the 80s will be glam rock punk queen Toyah Willcox who headlines this foot stomping party. Always a girl who knows how to put on a show this will be an opportunity to bop till you drop. No rest for the wicked as Toyah will be followed by the best party band around, Dr and The Medics, playing classic anthems and of course their legendary ‘Spirit in the Sky’ finally the evening will continue to rock on with Truesounds Discotheque.
Don't miss this high energy end to the Grassington Festival 2008!
NOTE: in the event of inclement weather, outdoor performances and workshops will take place in the Town Hall, where possible. The above listings are subject to change.
