Saddleworth Arts Festival events diary

SADDLEWORTH FESTIVAL starts this weekend and for the next fortnight the area will enjoy an unprecedented range of fine music and arts entertainment.

Follow each day of the festival with reports in the Chronicle, and choose your days and nights outr with this full run-down of festival events

Saturday: The Orchestra of the Swan, conducted by David Curtis will perform at the Civic Hall in Uppermill from 7.30pm. Tickets are £14 and £13 concessions.

Saturday: Saddleworth Players perform the Dylan Thomas play Under Milk Wood at the Millgate Arts Centre in Delph from 7.30pm. Tickets are £7.50.

Saturday: Festival Boredom Busters for children aged 4-11 at Saddleworth Museum from 1-3pm, admission £3. Also on June 11.

Saturday: Dobcross Youth Band present a film music concert from 8pm at the Dobcross Band Club. Tickets are £3.

Saturday-Sunday: At least 11 private gardens will be open for public viewing in Dobcross and Diggle. Tickets are £2 per garden or £7.50 for a weekend and available from the Brownhill Countryside Centre.

Sunday: The Dean of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, The Rt Rev Graeme Paul Knowles, preaches at a festival service for the new parish council chairman at St Chad’s Church, Uppermill, from 11am.

Sunday: An Antiques Roadshow expert examines gems and jewels at Jewels That Catch an Expert’s Eye, at the civic hall in Uppermill from 2pm. Tickets are £7.50 and £6.50 for concessions.

Sunday: Songs of Praise at Uppermill Methodist church, introduced by Marjorie Lofthouse, from 5.45pm.

Sunday: Comedy star Barry Cryer teams up with piano player Colin Sell for Butterfly Brain at the civic hall in Uppermill from 7.30pm. Tickets are £14 and £13 for concessions.

Sunday: A festival bowls tournament will be held at Friezland Bowling Club. The open singles competition will start at approximately 10.30am.

Sunday: The Teleman Baroque Ensemble perform as part of the chamber concerts at Dobcross Church from 7.30pm. Tickets are £7.50 and £6.50 for concessions.

Monday: Countryside presenter Julia Bradbury will talk about her experiences during An Afternoon With ... at the civic hall in Uppermill from 2pm. Tickets are £7.50.

Monday: A piano recital from Sofya Gulak, winner of the Leeds International Piano Competition, will take place at the civic hall in Uppermill from 7.30pm. Tickets are £14 and £13 for concessions.

Monday: Saddleworth Film Society present Mike Leigh’s Another Year, at the Millgate Arts Centre in Delph. Tickets are £5.

Monday: Saddleworth In Old Photographs at the Saddleworth Museum from 1.45-3.45pm. Free admission.

Tuesday: Award-winning milliners help locals to create their own fascinators at the Millgate Arts Centre in Delph, from 1.30pm to 4.30pm. Tickets are £9.50.

Tuesday: The Dave Donohoe Band perform From the Rockin’ of the Cradle, at the civic hall in Uppermill from 7.30pm. Tickets are £12.50 and £11.50 for concessions.

Tuesday: The Frolick with singer Emma Curtis put their spin on old music at St Anne’s Church in Lydgate from 7.30pm. Tickets are £8.50 and £7.50 for concessions.

Tuesday: Saddleworth Singers Ladies Choir perform at Uppermill Methodist Church from 7.30pm. Tickets £7.50 and £6.50 for concessions.

Tuesday: Uppermill Stage Society present the Richard Harris musical Stepping Out at the Ebenezer Church Hall from 7.30pm. Tickets for performances, also from June 8-11, cost £6.50.

Wednesday: Antiques valuations and appraisals by Bonhams take place at Saddleworth Museum in Uppermill from 11am to 4pm. Costs are £2 per item or 3 for £5.

Wednesday: Bordering on Insanity a talk by the Director of the Oxford Botanical Garden takes place at the civic hall in Uppermill from 2pm. Tickets are £7.50.

Wednesday: Saddleworth Consort chamber choir perform at the Dobcross Church from 7.30pm with tickets £7.50.

Wednesday: The Brighouse and Rastrick Band provide festival brass at the civic hall in Uppermill from 7.30pm. Tickets are £12.50

Wednesday: String sextet Robin Ireland and Friends perform at the Millgate Arts Centre, Delph, from 7.30pm. Tickets are £7.50 and £6.50 for concessions.

June 9: A floral art demonstration by Eden Flowers takes place at Millgate Arts Centre, Delph, from 2pm. Admission is £5.

June 9: Saddleworth Male Voice Choir perform with a special guest soloist at the civic hall in Uppermill. Tickets are £11 and £10 for concessions.

June 9: A Taste of Tango will be on offer under the lead of an Argentinean dance duo at the White Hart Inn from 7.30pm. Tickets are £15 including themed supper.

June 10: BBC presenter George Alagiah talks about his investigation into the food chain at the civic hall in Uppermill, from 2pm. Tickets are £7.50 and £6.50 for concessions.

June 10: Beethoven expert and TV presenter John Suchet gives a talk, Beethoven the Last Master, at the civic hall in Uppermill from 7.30pm. Tickets are £14 and concession £13.

June 10: The Musical Jones Family put on a concert of musical family favourites at St Anne’s Church, Lydgate, from 7.30pm. Tickets are £7.50 and concessions £6.50.

June 10: Gardens in Lydgate, Greenfield and Grasscroft will be open to visitors today and June 11, tickets are £2 per garden or £7.50 for a weekend.

June 11: Jane Rodgers will read and sign copies of her novel, The Testament of Jessie Lamb, at Delph Library from 10am with free admission.

June 11: Prizewinners from the Chetham’s School of Music put on a concert, Music For a Summer Afternoon, at St Mary’s Church in Greenfield. Tickets are £7.50.

June 11: Opera Della Luna present The Parson’s Pirates at civic hall in Uppermill, from 7.30pm. Tickets are £14 and £13 for concessions.

June 11: A Ceilidh for all the family will be held by the Legplaiters at the Denshaw Village Hall from 7.30pm. Family tickets including supper are £25 or £10 for single admissions.

June 11: The Sing For Pleasure choir perform at the Dobcross Church from 7.30pm. Tickets are £5 and £4 for concessions.

June 11: The Saddleworth GigArt showcases local music performers at the Church Inn, Uppermill, from noon to 4pm and 6pm until 10pm.

June 12: The Lord Rhodes Concert team up with the Saddleworth Musical Society Choir and Orchestra

June 12: Saddleworth Runners host the Wharmton Dash fell race at Churchill playing fields, from 11.30am. Entry is £3 on the day.

Daily: A None Violent Response to Terrorism?, a travelling exhibition from the Bradford Peace Museum, will be on display daily at Uppermill’s Saddleworth Museum, entry free.