THE Saltaire Festival is set to return in person later this year after an enforced two-year break due to the pandemic.
The event, usually held annually, traditionally brings 10 days of culture to the village, including exhibitions, dance, poetry, plays and more in September.
Organisers of the popular event have confirmed, pending no changes to the Government’s Covid restrictions, that the festival will return between September 10 and 19.
The live version of the festival was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, as events instead moved online.
The full programme of events which will be taking place will be announced towards the end of next month.
Record numbers packed the festival’s events when it was last held in September 2019.
The announcement was made via letters sent to residents in Saltaire earlier this week.
In the letter, organisers wrote: “We are delighted that Saltaire Festival should be going ahead this year from September 10 to 19.
We are crossing our fingers that there are no further lockdowns and will of course be adhering to all the Covid security arrangements that are in place at the time
“Things will look slightly different, but you can expect a range of art, theatre, poetry and music as well as food and craft markets.”
A number of Saltaire residents will be taking part in the open gardens event and small pop-up shops/cafes will be running on September 11 and 12 between noon and 4.30pm.
People who live in Saltaire or Hirst Wood still have the chance to offer their garden up for the event, email events@saltairefestival.co.uk or go to the festival’s Facebook page.
This year’s event will also mark the 20th anniversary of Saltaire becoming a World Heritage site with a poetry competition.
This year’s theme for the competition is ‘Our heritage: the evolving history of Saltaire’.
Writers are being urged to be inspired by the village’s history, its environment and local heroes.
Poems entered into the competition must be no more than 40 lines long and can be in any poetic form. The age categories for entrants are under-18s and adults. The closing date for poems is Friday, July 16. Winning poets will be awarded a book token and will have the chance to read out their poems at this September’s festival. Email your entries to events@saltairefestival.co.uk
Organisers are also looking for volunteers to help run the live festival. Email volunteers@saltairefestival.co.uk to sign up, or for more information.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel