Visitors to the district will be spoiled for choice this weekend as three large annual celebrations take place.
The silver screen will burst into life on the streets of Bradford on Saturday with the arrival of the Lord Mayor’s Parade.
The annual event is this year themed on the ‘Sensational Cinema’, and hundreds of local children and adults will march through the city centre in brightly-coloured costumes.
Many of the participants have spent months creating intricate outfits from tissue paper, cellophane, foam, willow canes and other materials supplied by the Council.
Shipley-based arts organisation Q20 Theatre is leading the festivities.
There will be four distinct parts to the parade, representing in turn black-and-white film, colour film, Bollywood and cinemas.
A costume specially designed for the event by local artist Morwenna Catt promises to be one of the highlights.
The elaborate headdress depicts the story of Bronte classic Wuthering Heights as if adapted into a Bollywood film, and features sheep and brooding moors as well as the lovers Heathcliff and Catherine.
Model Monique Gregoire will don the outfit to lead the Bollywood section of the parade as it winds through the streets of central Bradford.
Parade director John Lambert, from Q20 Theatre, said: “The costume is a work of art, in terms of its needlework and applique.”
He said any members of the public were welcome to dress up as their favourite film character and join in with the parade on the day.
The event will mark the end of Coun Khadim Hussain’s year as Lord Mayor of Bradford.
Coun Hussain said: “We are really looking forward to seeing this year’s colourful creations. The parade is lots of fun and it’s wonderful to see local children take part.
“This event will be brighter than ever and I encourage everyone to come down and support the parade.”
The parade starts in Norfolk Gardens from 12.30pm. It will travel around City Park’s Mirror Pool, along Sunbridge Road, along Kirkgate, and into Bank Street.
It will then pass along Tyrrel Street and into City Park for an afternoon of activities, including live music and street theatre.
There will also be a free screening of Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory on the Bradford Big Screen.
Meanwhile, the charm of the past returns to Haworth as the village hosts its annual 1940s weekend which attracts crowds from across the UK and beyond.
This year’s event takes place in the village on Saturday and Sunday.
For the second year it will be raising money for the Soldiers Sailors Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA).
The latest gathering, organised by SSAFA and the Haworth community, will be themed to commemorate the decisive Second World War D-Day Landings, which took place 70 years ago.
A spokesman for the organisers said: “The weekend will feature a number of talks and an exhibition about the work of code-breaking centre Bletchley Park. We will have our own ‘Station X’ in the village, where people will be able to learn about the vital work carried out at Bletchley.
“Haworth Central Park will play host to a number of re-enactors and living exhibitions, together with battle skirmishes. It will also stage the Pegasus Bar, a large licensed marquee hosting a number of events across the weekend.
“The Bronte Parsonage car park will be home to our ‘Y Station’, a listening station receiving messages for dispatch to Station X for code-breaking. We will also have the popular Spitfire fighter plane on display, together with a collection of other interesting exhibitions and stalls selling a multitude of items.
“For those eagle-eyed people attending, they should keep an eye on the tower of Haworth Parish Church for our own tribute to paratrooper John Steel and those who liberated the town of St Mere Eglise, in Normandy. His story is told in the film The Longest Day.”
The weekend is again expected to draw in thousands of locals and visitors, who will also be able to enjoy 1940s-style food, a ‘Picture Post’ souvenir magazine, wartime vehicles, uniforms and civilian fashions from this momentous era.
If the weather is good enough there will be a flypast by a Dakota aircraft, along with a wide range of stalls, a veterans’ remembrance service, an evacuee parade and afternoon and evening dances.
Visit the Haworth 1940s Weekend Facebook page or haworth1940s weekend.co.uk for further details.
Another favourite, Otley Show, will be held on Saturday and highlights will include a special Tour de France area.
The 205th show is at Bridge End and will mix traditional and new attractions, including horseback stunts, a US Army jeep display and a demonstration by Otley Sailing Club.
Organisers Wharfedale Agricultural Society have also had a bounty of entries for the show’s stock-in-trade – the livestock, horses, pets, produce, handicrafts and floral art classes.
Tickets will be available on the gate at £8 for adults, £6 for senior citizens, and £3 for children, with a £2 parking charge.
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