A minister's family are keeping busy in the bell tower as they prepare for Saltaire's celebration festival.

The Reverend Paul Breeze's wife Kate and their son Joshua, ten, have been learning bell-ringing for the past two months and will be taking part in the celebrations to dedicate the newly-restored bells at his church, the United Reformed Church.

The honour of the official dedication on Saturday, September 20 will be left to the experienced bell ringers from Port Sunlight, another model village and the only other reformed church in the country to have a set of bells.

But Kate, pictured here with her husband, and Josh will be showing off their newly-acquired skills in other peals throughout the weekend.

The inaugural Saltaire Festival was launched last night with a special historical play by acclaimed Yorkshire poet Tony Harrison.Running nightly until next Saturday Poetry or Bust tells the tragi-comic tale of John Nicholson, the Airedale Poet, who drowned in the River Aire by Salts Mill in 1843.

The play, performed by Northern Broadsides, is the beginning of a two-week festival to mark the bicentenary of Sir Titus Salt, the founder of Saltaire, and the 150th anniversary of the opening of Salt's Mill.

It is also an opportunity for the village to celebrate Saltaire's status as a World Heritage Site. Chairman Eddie Lawler said: "This festival will be an opportunity for Saltaire residents to celebrate the village and its history and for visitors to come along and enjoy themselves while at the same time finding out more about the place and its impressive architectural and industrial heritage.

Mr Lawler added: "And with a combination of a Victorian picnic and cricket match, a British Waterways Canal Festival, a rowing regatta, decorated horses and horse-drawn wagon rides, guided walks and open days on the final weekend, the streets are going to be thronging with people, spectacle and colour."

Highlights of the festival include an Antiques Road Show with Eric Knowles, a new, live cartoon of Saltaire written and performed by Ian Macmillan and Tony Husband and performances by Opera Femina, Alan Cuckston Singers and Orchestra, and Jazzco.uk.

Running in conjunction with the celebrations is the 19th Day of Dance next weekend which will see 51 dance, music and song workshops, a family ceilidh on Saturday evening and a tea dance on Sunday afternoon.

A gala and a Victorian picnic will conclude the festival. Details of all events are available on the festival web site at www.saltairefestival.co.uk and on (01274) 587945. Free festival guides have also been distributed to outlets across the district.