All Aboard the Festival Bus!

During this year’s Hebden Bridge Arts Festival, audiences will get on board a 1965 Routemaster bus for daytime events by local writers and performers including Dank Dance, Mytholmroyd writer Jill Robinson (author of the Berringden Brow series) and singer-songwriter Mabel Blue.

Pop into the Festival Shop to find out what’s on and queue at the bus for your tickets. You can also expect poetry events and Artist in Residence Lucy May Schofield’s Bibliotherapy Artist’s Book Library, a dose of art, literature and listening to soothe your woes. Supported by Arts Council England, the Festival Bus is also sponsored by Hole in t’Wall, another Festival venue, offering late-night music events for post-football or après-tennis chilling out, including Tom Kitching & Gren Bartley on Wednesday 7 July and Rodina on Sunday 11 July, the last event of the Festival..

Many events are close to selling out, but there are still exhibitions to enjoy during the Festival fortnight.  The Martin Parr exhibition continues at the Festival Box Office and Phil Withersby’s New Visions exhibition is on display at The Calder Gallery on Market Street.  Our  valleys, crags and moorlands are the seductive stars of Yorkshire - In All Its Glory, and these photographs can be seen at Heart Gallery until August 1.

Prints by Paula Rego will be on display at Artsmill, and a mixed exhibition of work by local artists will be shown at Wainsgate Chapel, Old Town. Catching the Light features further works by Wainsgate Artists Yvonne Stubbs and Weston Hammond and this exhibition will be at the Hare and Hounds, Old Town until 11 July.

Novice tree nerd Di Seymour celebrates our greatest English trees in The Oldest Living Organism at the White Ribbon Office, Mytholmroyd and this weekend there will be a show of contemporary and traditional artworks and photographs at St Michael’s Church Hall, Mytholmroyd, 10am-4pm. Entrance to all exhibitions is free.

Art in Gardens is one of the themes for Open Gardens 2010, an opportunity to visit other people’s inspirational plots and gain ideas for your own, with How Does Your Garden Grow? providing ideas to encourage people to grow food in whatever space is available to them. Open Gardens weekend is July 10-11, with maps and further information available from the Festival Box Office.

Contact hbfestival@gmail.com for more information.

The Festival runs from June 26 to July 11 and is supported by Arts Council England, Yorkshire, Hebden Royd Town Council, Sweet & Maxwell and Kala Gallery.  The box office in Albert Street is now open and postal and online booking are also available. Visit www.hbaf.co.uk for the latest information. 

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