We Love York > Events

Events in York and Nearby

6th October - 6th January 2008
Marking Time - An exhibition of paintings from York's own collections showing scenes at different times of the day, from sunrise to sunset to night. It features works by JMW Turner, Francis Danby and William Etty among many more York Art Gallery

6th October - 6th January 2008
Tracey Emin - This exhibition coincides with Tracey Emin's new show for the British Pavilion at this year's Venice Biennale. It feature works on paper, photography and textiles by Emin, one of the UK's most well-known artists. Emin is known for her autobiographical works and came to prominence when she was short-listed for the Turner Prize in 1999, with My Bed. She was made a Royal Academician by the Royal Academy of Arts earlier this year. Many of these works also offer a glimpse into Emin's personal world and have been loaned to the gallery for the exhibition by a private collector from Yorkshire (none of the works are available for purchase) York Art Gallery
8th October 2007
York Art Workers Association present a public talk by Elizabeth Fritsch CBE - one of the leading ceramicists in Britain. Elizabeth Fritsch has been one of the leading ceramicists in Britain since the 1970s and her work is represented within York Museums Trust's collections and across the world. Her hand-built stoneware vessels are refined into geometric and architectural shapes, with sometimes dazzling colours. This talk will appeal to specialists and non-specialists alike - all welcome Phone for details 01904 624827 8.00 pm Tempest Anderson Hall Yorks. Museum Gardens

8th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Festival Open Mic Competition - Add your dish to our feast of words or simply enjoy an evening of tasty morsels - the Festival Open Mic Competition is under the gaslight at Nellies. All forms of writing are welcome, but no performance should last more than 4 minutes 7.30 pm The White Horse Inn Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

8th October - 19th
November 2007 Exhibitions in the Gallery - John Crichton Ryedale Folk Museum

9th October 2007
York Philatelic Society Meeting - Visit from Stockton on Tees P.S. 7.15 pm Visitors Welcome Denham Room Priory Street Centre York YPS

9th October 2007
Yorkshire Philosophical Society Lecture Programme - General theme for the year: "Controversy and Risk." This evening - Reading the Mind A Lecture by Dr Gary Green, York Neuroimaging Centre. 7.30 pm. Contact 01904 656713 for further details Tempest Anderson Hall, Yorkshire Museum Gardens Yorkshire Philosophical Society

9th October 2007
Martin Simpson - Martin is widely acknowledged as one of the finest acoustic and slide guitar players in the world. His versions of traditional folk and blues songs are masterpieces of storytelling and his own songwriting has produced some real gems. No one combines better the diverse elements of British, Irish and American roots music. His solo shows are intense, eclectic, spellbinding and deeply moving. Twice voted BBC Folk Awards Musician of the Year, Martin is promoting his brand new CD Prodigal Son 7.30 pm The National Centre for Early Music

9th October 2007
Catterick Races Catterick Racecourse

9th October 2007
Keith Floyd presents Floyd Uncorked - The Life of a Bon Viveur - A brilliant raconteur, Somerset born, one time Army Officer, improver on the cuisine in the Officer's Mess, barman and restaurant owner. A live-aboard Mediterranean Mariner on his yacht 'Flirty' for two years. Presenter on 19 worldwide hit television series on food, author of over 20 bestselling books, and the first man to tour the world for television showing us how to explore the globe gastronomically. So…if you've had a hard week at the office and feel fried, grilled and battered or just steaming after a roasting from the boss, come along and relax with Floyd, in your best bib and tucker with a FREE glass of wine rejoicing in the knowledge that you'll be guaranteed NO GOOD ADVICE WHATSOEVER but many a chuckle at scandalous tales of fun 7.30 pm Pocklington Arts Centre

9th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Sophie Hannah - Sophie Hannah has made a brilliant transition from poetry to the novel. As well as a number of award-winning collections of poetry, she's now the author of two best-selling and critically acclaimed crime thrillers Little Face and Hurting Distance. Sophie will be performing both her poems and extracts from Hurting Distance: 'The novel confirms that Hannah is a rivetingly original arrival in crime fiction.' THE SUNDAY TIMES 8.00 pm Beverley Art Gallery Treasure House Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

9/10th October 2007
York Opera presents "Hugh The Drover" by Ralph Vaughan Williams. This truly English opera by one of our country's best-loved composers, "Hugh The Drover" deserves to be heard and performed much more frequently. It is tuneful, lyrical and colourful with plenty of passion in its central love story. Vaughan Williams' exciting opera contains all the elements of village life - Morris Men, a Prize Fight, confinement in the stocks and a troop of soldiers happy to press an unwilling recruit! York Theatre Royal

9-13th October 2007
The Northern Musical Theatre Company present - Showtime Spectacular 2 Following last years successful Showtime Spectacular, and his recent production of Les Miserables school edition, Bev Jones' Northern Musical Theatre Company brings you a sparkling, glittering evening of Song & Dance from all your favourite musicals and top entertainers ! With an ensemble twice the size of last year, it features Miss Saigon, The Sound of Music, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Latino Carnival, Fame and the exhilarating Bollywood extravaganza !! 7.30 pm Performed at - The Joseph Rowntree Theatre Tickets only from York Theatre Royal

10th October 2007
The Speakers' Corner - Open-mic; Performance; Poetry; Comedy and Spoken Word The Speakers' Corner was formed to offer a platform for spoken word. We believe there is nothing greater than hearing the creativity of others, as well as providing the chance for performers, comedians, poets and dramatists to have their say. 7.30 pm The Yorkshire Terrier Pub Stonegate The Speakers' Corner 10th October 2007 Royal Society for the Protection of Birds talk by Kevin Bayes -"The Tees Valley Project" 7.30 pm Temple Hall, York St. John College York RSPB

10th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Blake Morrison - Opening on the 'new dawn' of Labour's election victory in 1997 and ending five years later, Blake Morrison's latest novel, South of the River, is big and ambitious and reflects on many of the key ideas and moods of that period. Through its cast of dysfunctional characters it tackles the political optimism and disillusionment that haunted the Blair years. Blake Morrison is a poet, critic and author of the bestselling memoirs When Did You Last See Your Father? and Things My Mother Never Told Me. 8.00 pm Toll Gavel Methodist Church Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

10th October 2007
Scarborough Jazz @ The Cask present - A Tribute to Atlantic Records This is a new and inspirational ensemble put together by saxophonists James Russell (Baritone) and Jim Corry (Alto) to pay tribute to the record label that embraced the period of 'soul jazz' in the 1960s and early 70s. The new generation of musicians emerging at that time included Horace Silver, Cannonball and Nat Adderley and Bobby Timmons and many veterans of Ray Charles' band. Powerful tenor saxophonist Stuart McDonald with an added trumpet complete the front line The Cask Inn Scarborough Scarborough Jazz

11th October 2007
Trouveré - join medieval minstrels Trouveré for a fabulous evening of medieval music in the candlelit Great Hall. Phone 07720 118 406 for details Barley Hall

11th October 2007
York Railway Institute Band present In an English Country Bandstand Founded in 1883, and still having family links with its founder, Noah Bruce, York Railway Institute Band is York's oldest brass band. York R.I competes regularly and is at its busiest doing concert work. Recently the band produced its latest recording, the CD album Mainline Brass and performed at various venues on the shores of Lake Geneva during its 2006 tour York Theatre Royal

11th October 2007
The British Music Society of York present - The Carducci String Quartet - Matthew Denton and Michelle Fleming violins, Eoin Schmidt-Martin viola and Emma Denton cello. With a programme of works by Haydn, Janácek and Beethoven 8.00 pm Jack Lyons Concert Hall UoY BMS York

11th October 2007
The Black Swan Folk Club present - Ember A Welsh-American duo who have become festival favourites recently, with stunning vocal harmonies and engagingly humorous presentation. Emily Williams writes the songs and plays fiddle and guitar, while Rebecca Williams plays guitar and harmonica. Contemporary folk with an edge, they have been variously compared to Be Good Tanyas, Indigo Girls and Tracy Chapman! 8.00 pm Black Swan, Peasholme Green B.S.F.C.

11th October 2007
Collectors of Culture - From the Grand Tour to cabinets of curiosities. Discover how Nostell Priory has been influenced by the Grand Tours taken by Rowland and Charles Winn in the 17th Century. Followed by a two course Lunch. Booking Essential. 11.00 am Nostell Priory

11th October 2007
Upstairs Downstairs Tour - Explore Hidden Nostell with this behind-the-scenes tour of the House. See the unrestored servants quarters and the stones and beams of the original Priory. Booking Essential. 12.30 pm Nostell Priory

11th October 2007
JOHN PARR in Concert John takes you through his life in show business from his early days in Yorkshire working men's clubs to the dizzy heights of Hollywood. He had a worldwide hit with St. Elmo's Fire but he is also well known for his film scores. He wrote Under a Raging Moon for The Who and Rock N Roll Mercenaries for Meat Loaf. Hear John's outstanding voice and superb guitar playing live in a show that comes with video projection showing the highlights of his career and the people he has worked with including Tina Turner, Bryan Adams and Celine Dion to name but a few. A truly stunning show: fun, up close and personal 7.30 pm Helmsley Arts Centre

11th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Simon Hoggart - One of the most distinctive and appreciated voices of BBC Radio 4, Simon Hoggart will be reading from a selection of his humorous observations on the eccentricities of Presidents, Prime Ministers, teenagers, and their mums. Often considered the wittiest of parliamentary sketch writers, Simon Hoggart is also a best-selling author of such memorably titled works as: The Hamster that loved Puccini and The Cat That Couldn't Open The Fridge. Simon will be answering questions, so come prepared make the most of his unique parliamentary insights 8.00 pm Toll Gavel Methodist Church Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

11th October 2007
Dennis Locorriere The sensational voice of Doctor Hook - Renowned worldwide as a superb musician and songwriter, Dennis Locorriere is a vocalist of the highest order. His instantly recognisable, spine-tingling sexy vocals have graced more than 60 gold and platinum singles and albums and he has spent almost two years in the UK singles charts alone. Performing new material alongside all the classic hits such as Sylvia's Mother, Sexy Eyes, Just A Little Bit More and When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman you are sure to enjoy his legendary performance 8.00 pm Pocklington Arts Centre

12th October 2007
Bombay Jazz - A brilliant collaboration of highly talented musicians from India and the USA enjoying the success of their recent global tours - demonstrating their relentless pursuit of original compositions and improvisational excellence. Bombay Jazz (who's national tour also includes the Purcell Room and The Sage), is a dynamic blend of two of the finest traditions of music - Jazz and Indian Classical music. The group explores the melodic richness of raga and the dynamic rhythmic interplay that is common to both Indian classical music and jazz, while pioneering a harmonic exploration rarely heard in East -West fusions of any kind 7.30 pm The National Centre for Early Music

12th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Esther Freud - Esther Freud will be talking about her new novel Love Falls, a coming-of-age tale set in Siena over one summer that brings to life the excitement and awkwardness of adolescence and first love. Esther Freud's first novel, Hideous Kinky, was made into a feature film starring Kate Winslet. She is the author of four other novels. 1.00 pm Friends Meeting House Quaker Lane Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

12th October 2007
House Concert - The Groanbox Boys - This will be a wonderful evening - Their music is steeped in the 1920s and 30s, and played like the old greats with the peculiar mixture of sex and God to match. Seznec and Ward-Bergeman play their own unique brand of foot-stompin', sweat-drippin-from-the-ceiling, old time American blues, folk, rags, and mountain songs on accordion, acoustic guitar, gourd banjo, open-backed banjo, piano, harmonica, and shackles House Concerts 12th October 2007 Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Anne Enright - Anne Enright's latest novel The Gathering is a family epic about love and disappointment, and how our fate is written in the body, not in the stars. 'Anne Enright's style is as sharp and brilliant as Joan Didion's; the scope of her understanding is as wide as Alice Munro's; her sympathy for her characters is as tender and subtle as Alice McDermott's; her vision of Ireland is as brave and original as Edna O'Brien's. The Gathering is her best book.' Colm Toibin. With praise like this from a writer of Toibin's quality and honesty there's little more to say other than that, if you care about the novel, you shouldn't miss this event. Anne Enright's previous work includes: The Pleasure of Eliza Lynch, What Are You Like? and Making Babies: Stumbling into Motherhood. 6.30 pm Toll Gavel Methodist Church Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

12th October 2007
'Votes for Women!' - The History Wardrobe investigates the question 'How could women who chained themselves to railings still be so fettered by fashion?' A fund raising event by the Friends of Kiplin Hall. Booking Essential. 7.30 pm Kiplin Hall Scorton

12th October 2007
An Audience With Lord Hurd - Douglas Hurd was Home Secretary and Northern Ireland Secretary in Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet, and Foreign Secretary during the war in Yugoslavia. He retired as an MP in 1997 and is now ready to talk about his role in modern political history. He will also discuss his new book, Robert Peel, A Biography. Douglas Hurd, like Peel, argued for a One Nation philosophy and lived through times of conflict in the Conservative Party. In his biography, with one eye on the present, he charts Peel's life and work through the dramas of nineteenth-century politics 7.30 pm Helmsley Arts Centre

12th October 2007
THE SPRINGSTEEN EXPERIENCE - The Springsteen Experience formed in early 2004 after auditions brought together the first line up of musicians who are also dedicated fans of "The Boss" themselves.The aim of the band is to perform the music of Springsteen with passion and commitment, and just as important, with the same sense of fun Bruce himself puts into his shows.Although not pretending to be Springsteen and the E-Streeter's (there can be only one!), the band take elements from all areas of a Springsteen show, namely sound, lights, presentation and spirit, to get as close to the real thing as possible, ensuring that the audience get a great nights entertainment. Covering all areas of the great man's music, the Springsteen Experience will continually aim to improve and add to the music they perform, so as to ensure as wide a spectrum of songs as possible for the fans enjoyment 7.30 pm The Shire Hall Howden Howden Live

12th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Roddy Doyle - For the past few years Roddy Doyle has been writing stories for Metro Eireann, a magazine started by two Nigerian journalists and aimed at immigrants in Ireland. These stories make up Deportees, Doyle's first ever collection of shortstories, each of which explores the immigrant experience in an Ireland that has become, in a short space of time, one of the wealthiest countries in Europe. Roddy Doyle's other work includes Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (winner of the Booker Prize), The Commitments and The Van 8.00 pm Toll Gavel Methodist Church Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

12th October 2007
The Band Room present - RAMSAY MIDWOOD / TONY GILKYSON / KIP BOARDMAN / MIKE NICOLAI: he best all-star electric country blues band in the world at the North York Moors venue described by The Handsome Family as 'the greatest small venue on Earth.' This show features 4 incredible US Americana / roots singer-songwriters playing together in arguably the meanest kick-ass, back-kitchen, shuffling country blues combo in the history of rock and roll. Really! Austin, Texas-based Ramsay Midwood - who's played with ARLO GUTHRIE, WILLIE NELSON and RAMBLIN' JACK ELLIOTT - is a true one-off, his style somewhere between JJ CALE and JOHNNY DOWD, with bits of MICHAEL HURLEY, TOM WAITS and the young BILLY JOE SHAVER thrown in. Tony Gilkyson (Eliza's brother), best-known as former guitarist with LA punk / alt.country outfit X, CHUCK E WEISS and JOHN DOE, is now stepping out on his own with a terrific headline show. Kip Boardman stands for quirky rootsy pop, nodding along the way to influences as diverse as early ROLLING STONES, NILSSON, REDBONE, STEELY DAN and JOHNNY CASH...while Texas bass man Mike Nicolai is another undiscovered gem occupying stylistic territory not a million miles from BOB DYLAN, RAY DAVIES and PAUL WESTERBERG... The Band Room Farndale Kirkbymoorside The Band Room

12th October 2007
Bob Fox & Billy Mitchell in Concert Reeth Memorial Hall Reeth

12/13th October 2007
York Races York Racecourse

12/13th October 2007
York Opera presents "Hugh The Drover" by Ralph Vaughan Williams. This truly English opera by one of our country's best-loved composers, "Hugh The Drover" deserves to be heard and performed much more frequently. It is tuneful, lyrical and colourful with plenty of passion in its central love story. Vaughan Williams' exciting opera contains all the elements of village life - Morris Men, a Prize Fight, confinement in the stocks and a troop of soldiers happy to press an unwilling recruit! York Theatre Royal

12-14th October 2007
Wartime Weekend - Our annual return to the wartime era with re-enactments along the line, ENSA entertainers, street parades, air raids, and more North Yorkshire Moors Railway

12-14th October 2007
1940's themed Wartime Weekend - Re-enactors and Classic Wartime vehicles at Camp Beck Isle 2007 in association with the NYorkshire Moors Railway (see above) Beck Isle Museum Pickering

12-14th October 2007
Keighley & Worth Valley Railway - Autumn Steam Gala KWVR

12th October - 3rd November 2007
York Theatre Royal presents Limbo. Written by Declan Feenan and Directed by Dan Sherer The tender and compelling story of a young girl's relationship with an older man. A young Catholic girl gives her confession from the edge of Camlough Lake. She speaks of her life in Newry and her job in the factory with the girls. She speaks of her first love. She speaks of a relationship with a man twice her age. As the darkness of the lake calls out to her, she will do anything to find her peace York Theatre Royal

13th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Matthew Sweeney: Creative Writing Workshop A great opportunity to work with one of our finest poets and teachers: Matthew Sweeney co-wrote Writing Poetry, so who better to help you surprise yourself into a poem? 10.30 am Beverley Friary Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

13th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Jed Mercurio - Jed Mercurio's first novel Bodies was chosen as one of the five best debuts of 2002 by The Guardian. His adaptation of Bodies for BBC 2 won the Royal Television Society Award for Best Drama Series of 2005. He'll be reading from his latest novel Ascent, and talking about the relationship between writing for the small screen and writing for the page. He is currently adapting Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for television. Jed Mercurio trained as a pilot and a doctor before turning to writing after the success of his ground-breaking medical drama Cardiac Arrest. 2.00 pm Friends Meeting House Quaker Lane Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

13th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Daphne Glazer: Writing Workshop Join the novelist Daphne Galzer for an introduction to the craft of writing a novel. Daphne is the author of four novels, including Goodbye, Hessle Road and most recently, The Habit of Loneliness. We hope to establish a creative writing group at Goole library, so this is a great opportunity to get the ball rolling. To book a place ring Goole Library on 01405 762187. 2.00 pm Goole Library Goole Beverley Literature Festival

13th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Matthew Sweeney and Jack Mapanje - Matthew Sweeney will be reading from his latest collection Black Moon, a book in which he negotiates the borders and hinterlands of Central and Eastern Europe - with occasional coracle trips or forays to Antarctica for a round of golf. Living up to its title, Black Moon is a disquieting collection of portents and panic. 'Reflective, funny, supremely inventive and impeccably written. This is contemporary poetry at its very best.' CHARLES SIMIC Jack Mapanje will be reading poems from his fifth and latest collection Beasts of Nalunga and poems commissioned by the Freedom and Culture project to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery Act 4.00 pm Friends Meeting House Quaker Lane Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

13th October 2007
Fountains By Floodlight - from Dusk - 10.00 pm. Enjoy a Saturday night with a difference! Experience the beauty and mystery of Fountains Abbey by floodlight, with a different choir performing each week in the Abbey from 8.00 pm - 9.00 pm, guided tours at 7.00 pm and 7.30 pm, hot seasonal food served from the Abbey kiosk and Gregorian chants floating through the air, it's an atmospheric night to remember. Last admission 9.00 pm, no need to book Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Gardens

13th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Andrew Lycett: Conan Doyle Acclaimed biographer Andrew Lycett was granted unique access to the private Richard Lancelyn-Green collection of Conan Doyle letters and documents, which have allowed him to produce the most comprehensive and revealing portrait of Doyle to date. He explores in depth the troubled childhood, the alcoholic father whom Conan Doyle concealed in his own autobiography, and Doyle's fraught personal life. Andrew Lycett has written biographies of Dylan Thomas, Ian Fleming and Kipling 7.00 pm St Mary's Parish Hall Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

13th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Pauline Stainer and Thomas A Clark - 'Pauline Stainer writes sacred poetry for the scientific 21st century. Her poetry preserves a surety of vision, insisting that belief can only increase with knowledge, and that wisdom and faith are still provinces of careful, crystalline language', ANNE STEVENSON. Pauline will be reading from her new and selected poems The Lady and the Hare. Thomas A Clark's poetry points to the world with a sense of inexhaustible awe that it's possible to name and share things with another person through language. Sometimes it takes extraordinary strength and endurance to be this simple, to be this undemonstrative, but the rewards for the reader and listener are at times breath-taking in the clarity of their presentation 7.30 pm St Mary's Parish Hall Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

13th October 2007
White Out Conditions - Instant Dissidence return with an exhilarating piece of dance theatre that moves between the beautiful and the grotesque, taking the spectator through a journey of exuberating theatrical tension, astonishing visual designs and intricately choreographed movement, distorting reality along the way Selby Town Hall 13th October 2007 SLEEPING DOGZ featuring Wild Willy Barrett. Support Martyn Barker This unique trio live on boats on the Grand Union canal, an environment which can't help but inspire and stimulate their creativity. Their versatility is reflected in the number of instruments played between them, including guitar, fiddle, cello, banjo, balalaika, uilleann pipes, whistles, harmonium and djembe, producing a blend of highly emotive original music and arrangements. For those of you not already familiar with Barrett's unique performance style, come prepared to be both entertained and inspired by the Dogz' repertoire of original material and arrangements. Well known for his successful partnership with John Otway, multi-instrumentalist Willy Barrett's interest in acoustic live performance was re-kindled after hearing the strains of a cello being interwoven around a group of musicians accompanying a belly dance troupe during a visit to a canal-side pub. After a swift introduction, he suggested that Mary, the cellist, and a previous acquaintance John Devine (uilleann pipes, whistles, harmonium, percussion), should work together utilising their diverse musical capabilities. Coming from an Irish traditional background with contemporary influences, John also runs workshops throughout Europe in order to perpetuate the Celtic aural tradition. Before joining Sleeping Dogz, Mary was working as an Egyptian dance cellist and drumming with a touring Samba band. As a child she appeared in the screen production of Bugsy Malone and is the inspiration behind this collective 7.30 pm The Shire Hall Howden Howden Live

13th October 2007
Sowerby Music present - The Manchester Piano Trio with a sumptuous evening of Brahms. The E minor sonata for cello, the C minor sonata for violin and the B major Trio. Adi Brett is No3 principal with the Hallé, Nick Trygstad is principal cello with the Hallé and Jeremy Young is a busy and hugely talented freelance pianist 7.30 pm St. Oswald's Church Sowerby, Thirsk Sowerby Music

13/14th October 2007
The Big Draw - art activities as part of the nation wide 'Big Draw'. A chance to work with artist John Creighton and the museum collection Ryedale Folk Museum

13/14th October 2007
The Big Draw - 11.00 am - 4.00 pm Find the Green Man - draw him or your own. Drawing materials provided. No need to book Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Gardens 13/14th October 2007 The Big Draw - A weekend of family drawing fun. From 12 noon Mount Grace Priory

13/14th October 2007
A Grand Tour of Studley Royal - A free tour taking in the grand design of the Georgian landscape including Deer Park and Water Garden. Meet at the Visitor Centre. 1.30 pm Daily Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Gardens

13/14th October 2007
Harvest Home Supper - See the preparations for the Harvest Home Supper at Home Farm and Pockerley Manor. The mouth-watering spread at Home Farm includes raised game pies, trussed chicken and ox tongue, whilst dishes of the day at Pockerley Manor are pickled pigs feet, baked rabbits in custard and salamagundy Beamish Open Air Museum

13-15th October 2007
James Herriot Convention - meet James Herriot's Family and spend three days enjoying special Herriot activities , including trips, walks and talks. Guest speakers will include Derry Brabbs and Jim Wight. 'A must for all Herriot fans'. Booking Essential World of James Herriot Thirsk

14th October 2007
Guided Walking Tour - Fungal Foray - York Cemetery is a working burial ground. At the same time, it provides opportunities for conservation, education, and informal recreation within a protected environment close to York city centre. Trustees, staff, Friends, and volunteers all work to achieve the right balance between the provision of a community facility and support for the environment. Walk starts at 2.00 pm from The Gatehouse York Cemetery

14th October 2007
Jonatha Brooke in concert - The music of Jonatha Brooke is probably best described by one of her lyrics "I feel the steady pull of things that I can't see and I like it." Her music draws you in, an irresistible combination of intelligent arrangements and eloquent lyrics delivered by a great voice. Originally from Boston, Jonatha has a series of critically acclaimed albums to her credit. It is with good reason that legendary producer Bob Clearmountain said "not to take anything away from anybody else that I work with, but she is amazing." She showcases her engaging lyrics and melodies tonight at NCEM. Music that will lift your soul and tear your heart out - definitely one not to be missed 7.30 pm The National Centre for Early Music

14th October 2007
White Rose Historic Vehicles Rally which will specialise in buses Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway

14th October 2007
Coal train day - recreating the sights and sounds of the NCB coal trains of the 1960's Tanfield Railway nr Gateshead

14th October 2007
The Trolleybus Museum at Sandtoft - St. Leger Rally Trolleybus Museum

14th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Pauline Stainer: Readers' Group A chance to talk with Pauline Stainer about her work: we'll be looking in detail at her 1994 collection The Ice Pilot Speaks, which is available in selected form in The Lady and the Hare: New and Selected Poems (Bloodaxe). Come prepared with questions and bits you've enjoyed as these will form the starting point of our discussion 11.00 am Beverley Friary Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

14th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Alison Weir - Alison Weir's latest book provides the first full-length biography of an extraordinary love affair between John of Gaunt, one of the most important men of English History, and Katherine Swynford, sister-in-law of Chaucer and a modern minded, unconventional woman. Alison Weir offers an insight into what it was like to be female in mediaeval England at the height of the age of chivalry. Other works by this popular and successful historian include: Henry VIII: King and Court; Mary, Queen of Scots; Isabella: She-Wolf of France, Queen of England 4.00 pm St Mary's Parish Hall Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

14th October 2007
Beverley Literature Festival 2007 - Kathleen Burke - The 'Special Relationship' between Great Britain and the United States is an ever-significant one, as recent events have shown. In this groundbreaking account, Kathleen Burke traces the development of that relationship from the War of American Independence to the present day. Kathleen Burke is Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at University College London. 7.00 pm St Mary's Parish Hall Beverley Beverley Literature Festival

14th October 2007
Illustrated Talk by TOM HART DYKE - A True Story of Adventure, Survival & Extreme Horticulture. Colombia and the Cloud Garden - Tom Hart Dyke is a botanist, a self confessed plant nut, whose wild enthusiasm for plants, rare orchids in particular, took him in the year 2000 to one of the most inhospitable places on earth, the Darien Gap. This almost impregnable strip of swamp, jungle and cloud forest in Colombia is the only break in the Pan-American highway, which runs from Alaska to the tip of South America. Stories of abduction and murder are rife, as Tom and fellow explorer Paul Winder were about to find out 7.30 pm Helmsley Arts Centre

14th October 2007
The Shed present - Eliza Carthy Eliza Carthy has won two Mercury Prize nominations and an unrivalled seven BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. She has performed and recorded with artists from the Wainwrights to Nick Cave and Joan Baez, as well as recording and touring with her legendary parents, Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson. Accompanied by Willie Molleson on drums, Emma Smith on double bass and Phil Alexander on keyboards and piano accordion, Eliza will showcase original material from her forthcoming album 'Dreams Of Breathing Underwater' - due for release in 2008. "One of the figureheads of the English folk revival " Evening Standard 8.00 pm Hovingham Village Hall The Shed

14-16th October 2007
'Big Draw' - A chance to work with artist John Creighton and the museum collection Ryedale Folk Museum

14th October - 22nd November 2007
Past and Present - Malcolm Whittaker, Regina Heinz and Carolyn Genders Malcolm Whittaker - "All my work over the past twenty years or so has in one way or another dealt with the observable and unobservable phenomenon of time. An experience of time embodying a certain perception of history, landscapes, artefacts and images, speaking of the past but sited in the present. The main references in my work come from varied archaeological sources, maps, aerial photographs, land surfaces, museum and private collections, text and book forms. The presentation of objects in museums, displayed behind glass is of particular interest. In this context I see my work, the images, the objects.the mount and frame being perceived and made as a total entity, a place in its own right, a site for imaginative possibilities." The work for the show can be devided into three groups. One dealing with the multifarious images of archaeology, stone circles, hill figures, votive boats, where the archaeological process , layering, scraping, finding, preparing and displaying are mirrored in the act of painting and the making of the work. The second group has as it's source my interest in natural history and fascination for the 'collected' object. Objects taken out of situ, away from the source of origin and given a new meaning, a new identity in public and private collections, wrapped, boxed, displayed, sometimes even reburied in the vaults and cellars of our museums. Time can also be interpreted in terms of 'movement' and the third group is a small selection of drawings and paintings of Orangs and Gibbons,climbing, swinging and generally being the wonderful, creatures they are. Malcolm was bom in Hoyland, South Yorkshire, and studied Art at Bamsley School of Art and Royal College of Art, London Regina Heinz - Regina Heinz is an award-winning ceramicist, best known for the "pillow" forms she creates as individual abstract sculptures or as part of a wall panel series. Originally trained as a painter Regina Heinz has established a national and international reputation. Although essentially abstract, dealing with form, volume, line and colour, her work displays an organic and sensual quality reminiscent of the undulating "landscape" of a body. Born in Austria, she studied Fine Art and Ceramics in Vienna, Geneva and London and has worked from her ceramics studio in South London since 1998. Regina is a Crafts Council Selected Member and an elected Fellow of the Craft Potters Association of Great Britain Carolyn Genders - "Living in the country I cannot ignore the seasons and the consequent transformation of the landscape throughout the year. This influences my work and referring to landscape studies in my sketchbook and the marks and brushwork of my life drawings, I work intuitively on forms developed from organic sources. Responding to the material, enjoying the rhythm as I move around the form, I make marks of depth and variation, scratching and scraping through layers of slip, revealing the clay and emphasising the dryness of engobe or the softness of burnished slip; the silky surface emerging as polished as a sea worn pebble. I work spontaneously, creating forms and surfaces that evoke the feeling I have when I am part of the landscape, not illustrating it but striving to convey nuance of shape, balance and mass and creating mood and atmosphere." Lund Gallery nr Easingwold Lund Gallery

15th October 2007
riverlines a monthly events programme which brings the best of contemporary writers to York, where they read / perform / discuss their work with an audience of York's residents, students and visitors, presents - Children's Author - David Almond David Almond was born in Newcastle where he grew up in a large family. After studying English and American Literature at the University of East Anglia he had various jobs before finally training as a teacher. For five years he taught in a primary school on a large estate in Gateshead before leaving to concentrate on his writing via a commune in Norfolk, writing booklets for an adult literacy scheme and a final teaching job in a school for children with learning difficulties. Author of Skellig, Kit's Wilderness, The Fire-Eaters and Clay, David is widely regarded as one of the most exciting and innovative of children's authors today. The North East of his childhood often features in his work and his books are bestsellers all over the world 7.30 pm Basement Bar City Screen Coney Street riverlines

16th October 2007
Town and Gown Public Lecture at York St John University - York St John University's Town & Gown lecture series brings high profile and academic speakers to the general public free of charge. The series aims to welcome our local community, as well as guests from further afield, through our city centre doors to experience presentations on a range of themes including Education, Literature, Religion & Theology, History, Business, Health and International issues Today's lecture will be entitled "Belly-women and pickening mummas": images of slave mothers in discourses of slavery and abolition and is to be given by Dr Henrice Altink, Lecturer in Modern History at the University of York. This lecture is supported by the Centre for Global Education based at York St John University and marks not only Black History Month, but also the bicentennial year of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. This lecture will examine images of slave motherhood in pro- and anti-slavery writing C.1780-1834. It is particularly concerned with their interaction with the metropolitan motherhood ideal and will also address some of the long-lasting effects of these images. Dr Henrice Altink's main research focuses on notions of Afro-Jamaican womanhood. In her PhD and various articles, she has examined representations of Jamaican slave women in pro- and anti-slavery writings. While doing her PhD, she developed an interest in the Apprenticeship System in Jamaica (the four-year period between slavery and full freedom). She has written articles on the punishment and the relationships of ex-slaves. She has also explored the construction of notions of womanhood in the Afro-Jamaican community in the period 1865-1938, drawing upon a wide range of primary materials, including court testimonies and folk tales. Dr Altink has recently published a book on representation of Jamaican slave women in discourses of slavery and abolition and is currently working on a book that explores the construction of womanhood in the post-emancipation African Jamaican Community Free lecture, entrance by ticket only - for tickets contact m.white@yorksj.ac.uk 6.30 pm Fountains Learning Centre, Clarence Street York St John University

16/17th October 2007
Apple Lecture Lunches - Apple tour of the Walled Garden, apple lunch and apple pressing Beningbrough Hall

16/17th October 2007
Botanical Illustration Classes with Bridget Gillespie RHS Gold Medallist Helmsley Walled Garden

16-21st October 2007
Nostell Autumn Fair - celebrate Autumn through a selection of activities and displays for all the family Nostell Priory

17th October 2007
Special Butler's Tour - Discover what life was like above and below stairs with 'Downey' the Edwardian butler, followed by an Edwardian-style breakfast. 10.15 am. Booking Essential Treasurer's House York

17th October 2007
Curator's Lunchtime Talk - Marking Time Jennifer Alexander, assistant curator of fine art, will be talking about the art work on display in the Marking Time exhibition. Free lecture. 12.30 pm York Art Gallery

17th October 2007
The Ebor Lectures - The Ebor lectures are a response to the growing need for theology to interact with public issues of contemporary society. Public theology is about engaging in dialogue with a range of communities on issues wider than narrowly defined religious matters. Theme for 2007-08 lectures: Globalisation and Identity - Globalisation has benefited modern society in terms of rapid increase of mass information and economic wealth in certain nations but, at the same time, it has brought vast inequality on a global and domestic scale. It has also challenged the sense of identity of individuals and communities, which in turn, has contributed to various recent conflicts. The Ebor Lectures 2007-8 aim to address the relationship between globalisation and identity by looking at it from social, political, economic, cultural, religious and theological perspectives. The series will examine tensions and conflicts between communities which have affected public life in different parts of the world. It will deal with issues such as: global financial systems and their impact on micro and macro economic patterns world-wide; the impact of globalisation on culture; global politics in the context of diverse national and regional interests; the causes and effects of the rise of religious fundamentalism. Lecture - 'William Blake 250 years on - Prophet for our Time?' by Professor Chrisopher Rowland - University of Oxford Tickets are free but must be booked in advance 7.00 pm York St John University The Ebor Lectures

17th October 2007
York Concerts - GARY COOPER harpsichord plays Bull - Walsingham Sweelinck - Fantasia super Ut, Re, Mi, Fa, Sol, La Buxtehude - Toccata in G minor JS Bach - Prelude & Fugue in A BWV 894 D Scarlatti - Sonatas Rameau - L'Entretien des Muses; Gavotte & Variations Royer - Allemande; La Marche des Scythes At the heart of this carefully crafted musical adventure is a selection of some of the 555 keyboard sonatas written by Domenico Scarlatti; 2007 marks the 350th anniversary of his death. The programme is a game of pairs, each composer having influenced another and, in one instance, come to blows! Gary Cooper, one of the foremost ambassadors of the harpsichord and a regular visitor to York, was named 'Best Newcomer in Classical Music, 2001' in The Times. He has been dubbed 'something of a genius' (Times), and the Sunday Times recently declared of his solo playing: 'music-making rarely comes as impressive as this'. 6.30pm Pre-concert talk: Gary Cooper Free to ticket holders 7.30 pm Sir Jack Lyons Concert Hall UoY York Concerts

17th October 2007
Wetherby Races Wetherby Racecourse

17th October 2007
Alternative Autumn Tour (R.H.S.) - An Introduction will be given by Sir John Ropner in his private house then a Guided Tour with Curator Terry Exley will complete your afternoon. Tickets Only. 1.00 pm Thorp Perrow Arboretum, Bedale

17th October 2007
Scarborough Jazz @ The Cask present - Frank Brooker Frank is an accomplished saxophonist and clarinettist in many musical genres. Coleman Hawkins, Barney Bigard and Sonny Rollins are the musicians who have influenced him most and he can move effortlessly and fluently from New Orleans music through Dixieland to Swing, Mainstream and Bebop. We can also expect one or two vocals from the American Songbook. Peter Elsdon will play keyboards The Cask Inn Scarborough Scarborough Jazz

17-20th October 2007
York Settlement Players present - DINNER By Moira Buffini, Directed by Eusebio Machado. An artist, a scientist and a sexpot are coming to dinner. Paige, hostess extraordinaire, is celebrating the publication of her husband's bestseller. The arrival of Mike, marooned in the foggy lane after crashing his van, provides an unexpected addition to the evening's entertainment. A silent waiter, sourced from an obscure website, completes the picture. Primordial Soup is the first on the menu - let the dinner from Hell begin Friargate Theatre Dinner

17th October - 4th November 2007
Wetherby Festival 2007 - Tues 16 Oct Tuesday Lunchtime Recital BLAMEY / BYWATER CLARINET DUO Wed 17 Oct LONDON COMMUNITY GOSPEL CHOIR Thurs 18th Oct CHRIS NEWMAN & MAIRE NI CHATHASAIGH Fri 19 Oct LEEDS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Sat 20 Oct WETHERBY & DISTRICT FOOTPATH GROUP Sat 20 Oct THE ELYSIAN SINGERS Sun 21 Oct HUMPHREY LYTTELTON Mon 22 Oct INDIGO MOON PUPPETS Mon 22 Oct JULIE FOWLIS & DOCHAS Tues 23 Oct Tuesday Lunchtime Recital DEBBIE BENNETT soprano & ELIZABETH KEETLEY piano Tues 23 Oct TREBLE CLEF Tues 23 Oct WETHERBY'S BIGGEST LIAR COMPETITION Tues 23 Oct MEL SWALES Wed 24 Oct MUGENKYO TAIKO DRUMMERS Wed 24 Oct WETHERBY ACCORDIONS Thurs 25 Oct WETHERBY HISTORICAL TRUST & SOCIETY Thurs 25 Oct KATHRYN TICKELL Thurs 25 - Sat 27 Oct WETHERBY & LINTON DRAMA GROUP "The Constant Wife" Fri 26 Oct THE NEW WORLD STEEL ORCHESTRA & MIGHTY ZULU NATION THEATRE COMPANY Fri 26 Oct WETHERBY TWINNING ASSOCIATION Sat 27 Oct WETHERBY CIVIC SOCIETY guided tour Sat 27 Oct VOULEZ VOUS Master of the "ABBA" scene Sat 27 Oct CHOIR OF ST. JAMES' CHURCH, WETHERBY Tues 30 Oct Tuesday Lunchtime Recital THE SAINT SAENS HARP AND VIOLIN DUO Wed 31 Oct LITERARY LUNCH Wed 31 Oct NORTH COUNTRY THEATRE COMPANY Thurs 1 Nov YORK LIGHT ORCHESTRA "Encore" Fri 2 Nov ONE DAY I'LL GO TO COMPOSTELLE Sat 3 Nov WETHERBY SILVER BAND "Best of Brass" Sat 3 Nov HARROGATE MALE VOICE CHOIR Sat 3 Nov MEL SWALES Sat 3 Nov COMMUNITY BONFIRE Sun 4 Nov FESTIVAL SERVICE Various Venues in Wetherby Wetherby Festival

18th October 2007
Candlelight Tour - few of us appreciate today, what it was like to study and live only by the light of a candle. Dining rooms, for example, needed eight candles to illuminate the table, and we will recreate thsi stmosphere throughout Fairfax House (albeit with the help of modern technology, to remove the risk of fire!!). An "illuminating" guided tour with a difference. 7.00 pm Fairfax House

18th October 2007
Ebor Singers in Concert 7.30 pm North Transept York Minster

18th October 2007
riverlines a monthly events programme which brings the best of contemporary writers to York, where they read / perform / discuss their work with an audience of York's residents, students and visitors, presents - to be confirmed 7.30 pm Basement Bar City Screen Coney Street riverlines

18th October 2007
Chinese Song Concert - Yanchuan Zhang singer Jiayi Yi zhu di Jian Danxi gu zhen. Yanchuan Zhang, prize-winning singer from the Sichuan Conservatory,Chengdu, China, presents a programme of songs tracing the history of song in China from the traditions of the Han dynasty to the contemporary art song written in this century. Yanchuan will be accompanied by traditional instrumentalists, famous in China, playing zither and Chinese flute 7.30 pm The National Centre for Early Music

18th October 2007
The Black Swan Folk Club present - Wizz Jones This pioneer of the British acoustic guitar scene is well beyond his 65th birthday but shows no sign of retiring just yet. A musicians' musician, Wizz has influenced generations of later players. He's also a fine singer and a delightfully modest performer with a wide repertoire of contemporary songs, blues and original numbers. Grossly underrated, but one of our favourites 8.00 pm Black Swan, Peasholme Green B.S.F.C.

18th October 2007
Barron Knights - Bop Til We Drop. The Barron Knights aka Pete Langford, Lloyd Courtney, Mick Groom and new member Len Crawley are back on the road with their inimitable and unique blend of comedy and rock 'n' roll. Call Up The Groups and all the big hits will be performed alongside hilarious songs about Camilla, Viagra and Having Senior Moments. "They are a class act with great vocals, unique humour, wonderful guitar playing" Encore Magazine 8.00 pm Pocklington Arts Centre

18-21st October 2007
Continental Market Parliament Street York Markets

19th October 2007
York Astronomical Society lecture - "Super WASP - Extrasolar planet detection" - by Dr Pierre Maxted, from Keele University. The field of extrasolar planet discovery is expanding all the time as new techniques for detecting planets orbiting distant stars are tied and refined. Pierre will be telling us all about Super WASP, and the impact it has and will have on extrasolar planet discovery. All are welcome 8.00 pm Denham Room Priory Street Centre Y.A.S.

19th October 2007
Swarb's Lazarus - Dave Swarbrick (Fairport Convention, Whippersnapper, Band of Hope) on fiddle and mandolin; Kevin Dempsey (Whippersnapper, Uiscedwr) on guitar; Maartin Allcock (Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull, WAZ!) on bouzar and acoustic guitar Reeth Memorial Hall Reeth 19th October 2007 Nancy Kerr & James Fagan - A much loved guitar and fiddle duo with an international following. Nancy (former partner of Eliza Carthy) & James (The Fagans) combine skilful and innovative performance with accessibility, warmth and stage presence. Nancy's earthy and exquisite fiddle and viola playing dances with the striking rhythmic texture of James's flat backed bouzouki, both complimenting their rich harmony singing Selby Town Hall

19th October 2007
The Shed present - The George Washingmachine Quartet Feeling all strung out? Life in a spin? Let Australia's George Washingmachine rinse away the cares of everyday life. From knuckle-busting fiddling and Grappelli-esque workouts, to Dixieland romps and smoochy velvet vocal numbers, George will get your feet thumping and your heart pumping with his electrifying performance. Featuring Oz guitar player Dave Blenkhorn, the UK's Dave Kelbie on guitar and Sebastien Girardot (Oz/France) on bass. "He doesn't play second fiddle to anyone" Sunday Telegraph 8.00 pm Hovingham Village Hall The Shed

19/20th October 2007
'At the drop of yet another hat!' - The Best of Flanders and Swann... Classics such as Transport of Delight, Have Some Madeira M'Dear, The Gnu, The Gasman Cometh make up this delightful evening of humour. Re-live your memories of England's best-loved comedy song duo in this delightful two-hour show sung by Amanda Crawley and Nicholas Nightingale, accompanied on the piano by Kate Pearson. The show will also include the occasional surprise from the likes of George Gershwin and Cole Porter! 7.30 pm Helmsley Arts Centre

19-21st October 2007
musicport 2007 - World Music Festival - Live Music, Jazz, Blues, Folk, Acoustic, Rock, Workshops, Education - This is Whitby Musicport Four Stages in One Indoor Venue, Workshops, Market, Children's Festival Bookings include: Rachid Taha (Algeria) Saturday late. Algerian star based in Paris but with a world-wide fan base for his contemporary take on the music of his homeland which blends blues, techno and rock with more traditional Arabic influences. A real showman, his live gigs are legendary and recent UK shows have seen Mick Jones of The Clash and Brian Eno onstage with him. A definitive highlight. Courtney Pine Sunday late. Internationally acclaimed award-winning saxophonist credited wiith transforming the face of British jazz. His band includes Cuban violinist Omar Puente, Cameron Pierre (guitar) & Robert Fordjour (drums). The latest album Resistance is accessible, danceable and global in it's influences. A great live act. Värttinä (Finland) Friday. Stunning music from the Karelia region of Finland. This 9 piece group are an international phenomenon. An acclaimed performance at WOMAD 2006 and composing music for the new stage production of Lord Of The Rings means their UK profile is in the ascendant. Linton Kwesi Johnson (Jamaica/UK) Friday Known and revered as the world's first dub poet his poetry is innovative, challenging and a social documentary of our times. A spoken word performance from one of Britain's most influential and original voices. Nuru Kane & The Bayefall Gnawa (Senegal) Saturday late Paris-based stars of BBC documentary Festival In The Desert the charismatic Nuru and band will undoubtedly be a highlight of this year's festival. Susheela Raman Sunday early Mercury Prize nominee & World Music Award winner who continues to explore her Tamilnadu heritage through her beautiful , innovative & boundary-crossing music. Tiris (Western Sahara) Sunday early From the disputed lands of the Western Sahara this group of refugee musicians, dancers and artists are on their first UK trip. A multi-generational Saharawi band whose songs , dance & puppetry tell of the long struggle for justice for this displaced people. Galina Durmuskhliyska (Bulgaria) Saturday early Exclusive UK performance from Galina & band. A major star in her homeland performing the traditional music of the Dobrudzha region. Sidi Goma (India) Friday The Black Sufis of Gujarat. 12 piece band whose music mixes native African music styles with Gujarat influences to create a unique sound. Kékélé (D.R. Congo) Sunday Late. 3rd time at Musicport for veteran musicians from the golden era of Rumba Congolaise. Subtle rhythms, enchanting voices & dazzling guitars.Guaranteed floor-filler Muntu Valdo (Cameroon) Saturday late Sawa Blues from outstanding guitarist, singer & harmonica player based in Paris but beginning to make waves further afield. Mary Coughlan (Eire) Friday Ireland's favourite diva & chanteuse who, in a long & remarkable career, has worked with the likes of Tom Waits & Elvis Costello en route to becoming a national treasure. A truly great singer & performer. Adel Salameh Trio (Palestine) Saturday early Master Oud player Adel Salameh, Naziha Azzouz (vocal) & Adel Shams El Din (percussion). Bollywood Brass Band Friday. Funky drummers and a 6 piece horn section play massive hits from Indian films, driven by the beat of the dhol drum. LAU (Scotland) Saturday early Formidable union of three of the finest and most innovative exponents of modern traditional music in Scotland: Kris Drever, Martin Green and Aidan O'Rourke. Marjan Vahdat (Iran) & Jason Carter Saturday early Amazing young Iranian singer who is restricted from performing in her homeland joins forces with Finland based guitarist. Jo Freya's Lal Project Sunday early World premiere of a great new band playing the beautiful songs of the late Lal Waterson. Led by Jo it features members of Chumbawamba,Mary McMaster, Jim Boyes & Fi Fraser. Doreen Thobekile (South Africa) Saturday early Kwazulu roots diva of immaculate pedigree, lead singer with Transglobal Underground and with great solo album to her credit. Gilad Atzmon & The Orient House Ensemble Saturday early World, contemporary and Jazz mixed with electronic and humour from brilliant dissident Israeli saxophonist/clarinettist and ex-Blockhead Forty Thieves Orkestar Saturday late Aidan Love, Idris Rahman, Samy Bishai & co with an irresistible fusion of European & klezmer traditions with an urban twist. Black Voices Sunday early Highly rated female gospel group performing a history of the spiritual. The UK's answer to Sweet Honey In The Rock. Eduardo Niebla Experience (Spain/India) Sunday early Wonderful Flamenco guitarist/composer with his fusion of eastern & western musical traditions. Ceri Rhys Matthews & Christine Cooper (Wales) Sunday late Welcome return of two members of the great Welsh band Fernhill in a new duo featuring Welsh pipes, flute and fiddle. Seikou Susso & Allah Lake Band Sunday early Traditional Afro Mandika roots from Gambia plus more contemporary upbeat West African styles from Musicport regular Seikou and band. Neuneneu Sunday early Fusion of indigenous Brazilian & West African kora music, with Ravi and Marlu Miranda. Banner Theatre Company presents "They get free mobiles . . . don't they?" Sunday early Myth-busting exploration of the status and plight of refugees and asylum seekers in the UK from long-established political theatre company formed by Charles Parker The Sex Patels Sunday early Leeds-based outfit featuring Chumbawamba drummer Harry with excellent sitar and tabla-based retakes on punk classics. Soname (Tibet) Sunday early Return visit to Whitby from charismatic Tibetan singer with accompanying musicians. The Auvo Quartet (UK/ Finland) Saturday Early Excellent young musicians blending the traditional music of their respective cultures. London Bon Dancers (Japan) Sunday Late Traditionally Bon dancers have been the highlight of Japanese summer festivals. A rare treat. Flying Chili Beats Saturday Late London DJ collective Alex Stewart & Jamie Renton. Global sounds into the early hours The Pavilion Whitby

19-27th October 2007
York Theatre Royal presents Pinocchio The tale of an extraordinary boy. Running wild in the streets, playing truant from school, upsetting the neighbours. Old Joe is terrified about where his blockhead of a son will end up. Why can't Pinocchio behave like an ordinary boy? And when Pinocchio finally disappears into an underworld of con-men, low-lifes and sharks, Old Joe frantically pursues his son along his ever more wild, strange and epic journey. Anarchically exuberant and savagely funny, this new production brings a dark and refreshing twist to the classic tale of Pinocchio - the boy who was made with a heart as hard as wood. Full Body and the Voice and The Shysters have unrivalled reputations for their work with actors with learning disabilities. Their collaboration with actors from York Theatre Royal brings together a brilliant ensemble company. Things you might see: a shark, a talking donkey, some very bad behaviour… Things you might not see: a nose that grows, Jiminy Cricket, dungarees. Disney this ain't! York Theatre Royal

19-28th October 2007
The Enchanted Garden - A sublime night-time experience. The magnificently restored Victorian Gardens are illuminated to become a place of wonder and enchantment. This garden walk will delight young and old alike as the garden features are bathed with colourful light, with a surprise around every corner. The shop will be open and refreshments available on these special evening openings. Please note there is no access to the Hall itself. From 6.30 - 9.00 pm Brodsworth Hall

20th October 2007
Full Farmers' Market - The main principle of the farmers market is that it is local producers selling fresh quality produce direct to local consumers in an atmosphere which promotes dialogue and understanding of food production including environmental and welfare standards. This cuts down food miles and puts money back into the local economy rather than imported goods. The market always offers an extensive range of produce including:- Meat - Yorkshire beef, lamb and pork; chicken, duck, geese, pheasant, partridge, wild game (in season); wild boar; pies, sausages, burgers etc. Vegetables - Fresh vegetables and salads (including organic growers); exotic mushrooms; fresh fruit in season. Bakery - Cakes, scones, quiches, puddings, fruit pies. Other products - Yorkshire cheeses, home made soups, fruit wine, apple juice, organic milk and butter. A fantastic choice of fresh quality local produce at very competitive prices and the benefit of knowing where it's come from and how it's been produced York Auction Centre Murton Farmers' Market

20th October 2007
'Turrets and Battlements' - Inaccessible and Hidden York Tour. A unique chance to enter parts of York never normally open to the public, to climb turrets, descend into Roman remains, explore secret passageways, crypts, medieval churches and hidden Georgian interiors. The theme for each tour is different. 10.30 am YorkWalk

20th October 2007
'Choccy & Sweetie Tour' - York has played a big part in pleasing the sweet tooth. Hear the history of Terrys, Rowntrees & Cravens. See sweets being made, and taste some delicious samples! 10.30 am & 2.00 pm YorkWalk

20th October 2007
York St John University Open Day - YSJU hold a number of Open Days throughout the year, to give you a chance to see whether York St John is the right place for you. Choosing where to study can be a difficult decision, so we encourage all our applicants to visit us before making a final choice. You can meet our staff, find out more about our undergraduate degrees, look around our facilities, chat to our current students and generally get a feel for York St John University York St John University

20th October 2007
'Guildhalls and Secret Passages' - Inaccessible and Hidden York Tour. A unique chance to enter parts of York never normally open to the public, to climb turrets, descend into Roman remains, explore secret passageways, crypts, medieval churches and hidden Georgian interiors. The theme for each tour is different. 2.15 pm YorkWalk

20th October 2007
York Guildhall Orchestra present - Overture: Masquerade - Neilson; Karelia Suite - Sibelius; Trumpet Concert - Arutunian soloist - John Wallace; Romance for Strings - Sibelius; Symphony No.5 - Sibelius 7.30 pm Central Hall UoY York Guildhall Orchestra

20th October 2007
ASIMA - Listen to the evocative sounds of this male vocal ensemble from South India, using ancient sanskrit texts as the basis for the music. They move from recitation to something akin to a modern pop song. Superb voices sing in harmony as well as in the traditional single melodic line of the vedic chants that will sound particularly beautiful in the sympathetic acoustics of the NCEM. The word ASIMA means 'without boundary' in Sanskrit and defines the life of Devissaro, the composer of this wonderful music 7.30 pm The National Centre for Early Music

20th October 2007
Hands on History Seminars - The Pride of Chivalry. Arms, armour and illuminated manuscripts from the time of the Hundred Years' War. Jehan Froissart wrote a lively account of the Hundred Years' War. These Chronicles were copied and painted in the early 15th century. Their breathtakingly beautiful illustrations provide a precious source of material showing in fine detail how armour was made, arms used and held, and heraldry employed, in combat. New digital photographs will be shown for the first time as well as a chance to see some medieval armour and weapons. This day course will introduce the Royal Armouries' winter exhibition on the manuscripts. 10.00 am - 4.00 pm Royal Armouries Leeds

20th October 2007
Taster Tour - Travel in time to take an overview of the history of this World Heritage Site. Meet at the Visitor Centre 10.30 am Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Gardens

20th October 2007
Catterick Races Catterick Racecourse

20th October 2007
Reunion of British Military personnel and members of the Palestine Police who served in Palestine between 1945 and 1948 Eden Camp Malton

20th October 2007
Fountains By Floodlight - from Dusk - 10.00 pm. Enjoy a Saturday night with a difference! Experience the beauty and mystery of Fountains Abbey by floodlight, with a different choir performing each week in the Abbey from 8.00 pm - 9.00 pm, guided tours at 7.00 pm and 7.30 pm, hot seasonal food served from the Abbey kiosk and Gregorian chants floating through the air, it's an atmospheric night to remember. Last admission 9.00 pm, no need to book Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Gardens

20th October 2007
Dylan Thomas: Return Journey - Directed by Oscar winning actor Anthony Hopkins, Bob Kingdom takes on the role of the Welsh genius who lived hard and died young in this whistle-down-the-wind tour of Dylan Thomas' life and work from the bars and cafes of his youth to the American lecture circuit that sucked him dry. The show has toured worldwide and enjoyed sell out seasons in London & New York Selby Town Hall 20th October 2007 Mary Coughlan in Concert - A welcome return to our favourite Irish diva and chanteuse, Mary Coughlan is a singer with a passion-filled voice frequently compared to Billie Holliday. She has worked with the likes of Tom Waits and Elvis Costello and is now regarded as a national treasure. Moving easily from blues to jazz to traditional Celtic music and interspersed with witty introductions Mary makes a profound impact. You cannot fail to be impressed by this truly great singer who performs from the heart. Highly recommended! "Coughlan can inhabit other people's songs so completely as to make you forget anyone else ever sang them!" Financial Times 8.00 pm Pocklington Arts Centre

20th October 2007
The Band Room present - RACHEL HARRINGTON & ZAK BORDEN supported by BEN PARKER Rachel Harrington has been doing things in the wrong order for quite some time. She had extensive radio airplay before performing her first live solo show, and she opened several concerts for Grammy winners and nominees before her debut full-length record was even a glimmer in her eye. Zak Borden is a picker, songwriter and singer of American roots music. He has clocked tens of thousands of road miles in the US and Europe and worked with leading purveyors of traditional and contemporary acoustic music. BEN PARKER - An amazing live performer and great vocalist - good enough to have been invited to help out with the recent 40th Anniversary recreation of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band at Abbey Road Studios, alongside, Kaiser Chiefs, The Magic Numbers, Bryan Adams, Razorlight, Stereophonics, The Fray and Travis, & co The Band Room Farndale Kirkbymoorside The Band Room

20th October 2007
The Shed present - Stewart Lee - 41st Best Stand-up ever! ADULTS ONLY An official Channel 4 survey in March named Stewart (Fist Of Fun, Jerry Springer The Opera) the 41st best stand-up ever. If you only see fifty stand-ups in your lifetime make him your 41st. "Comedy as a lethal weapon in the hands of a crack shot." Scotsman 8.00 pm Hovingham Village Hall The Shed

20/21st October 2007
Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt, the Fat Controller, are visiting the Wensleydale Railway this year - Join the fun at Leeming Bar Station between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm. If you are arriving by car, please park at Leeming Bar services (at the junction of the A1 and the A684). Our free Park and Ride vintage bus service will operate on these weekends between the car park and the station at Leeming Bar. Look out for our Park and Ride signs. ALL SEATS ARE BOOKABLE. BOOKING IS RECOMMENDED TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS A SEAT FOR YOU ON YOUR CHOSEN TRAIN Wensleydale Railway

20/21st October 2007
Botanical Illustration Classes with Bridget Gillespie RHS Gold Medallist Helmsley Walled Garden

20/21st October 2007
Junior Birds of Prey Experience Day - Children can learn how to handle and fly birds of prey with the help of our experienced tutors. Each child will receive a souvenir goodie bag and certificate to take home. During this experience your child will identify different types of birds, learn about bird habitats, fly an owl or hawk to the glove. The Junior Birds of Prey Experience Day is especially designed for youngsters, combining education workshops with fun hands-on activities. Children have the opportunity to learn more about birds of prey, participate in an owl pellet dissection study and fly an owl or hawk to the glove. Adults are encouraged to participate and welcome to take photos of their child flying the birds. This Junior Experience is suitable for ages 8 - 15 years. 10am - 12.30pm or 1.30pm - 4pm · Children must be accompanied by an adult. · The duration of this Junior Experience will be 2½ hours. · Wear suitable clothing as part of this event is held outdoors and Helmlsey Castle is not heated To book a place please 'phone Customer Services on 0870 3331183 Helmsley Castle

20/21st October 2007
A Grand Tour of Studley Royal - A free tour taking in the grand design of the Georgian landscape including Deer Park and Water Garden. Meet at the Visitor Centre. 1.30 pm Daily Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Gardens

20-28th October 2007
Triumphs and Tragedies - find out more about some of the disasters and heroic deeds that have been part of the history of Britain's railways Enjoy live performances on the platform, have a go at making your own flag signals, listen to gruesome tales and hear about railway disasters and what we can learn from them National Railway Museum

20-28th October 2007
Tudor Trail for Children - Can you find Henry VIII and his six wives and uncover the grisly truth behind the untimely deaths of Anne Boleyn and Kathryn Howard. You'll need to keep your head to complete this trail and get your fun sticker. From 10.00 am Helmsley Castle

20-28th October 2007
Royal Horticultural Society event - A Taste of Autumn - Apple Festival and Pumpkin Day rolled into one…plus much more! A full week of tastings, walks, displays and advice, demonstrations… indeed everything you need to know about enjoying seasonal fruit and veg. Exhibitors selling seasonal produce, plus children's' activities. 10.00 am - 4.00 pm Harlow Carr Garden RHS Harlow Carr

20-28th October 2007
School Holiday Fun - Squirrels and Acorns. 11.00 am - 3.00 pm Free trails and drop in self-led activities in Swanley Grange Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Gardens

20-28th October 2007
Autumn Glory - Autumn Glory takes place during the October half term holidays and is a week of activities celebrating rural crafts and skills. "Autumn - the year's last loveliest smile" William Cullen Bryant. Event begins 20th October with Sunday 28th October being the Main Event Day - but there will be activities all week! Activities include: Demonstrations and Displays RSPB Talks and Making Bird Feeders Willow weaving Scarecrow Making Scarecrow Trails Story Telling Face painting Guided Seed Gathering Walks in the Grounds Guided Tree Walks Guided Red Kite Walk All this and much more! Sturdy footwear and suitable outdoor clothing are recommended Harewood House

21st October 2007
York Community Archaeology Project Study Day - Vernacular Building Materials with Peter Goldsborough. The study day programme for 2007-08 is designed to appeal to a wide range of people interested in studying their local historic landscape. Contact the Community Archaeologist, on 01904 663020 York Archaeology

21st October 2007
Guided Walking Tour - Autumn Photography - York Cemetery is a working burial ground. At the same time, it provides opportunities for conservation, education, and informal recreation within a protected environment close to York city centre. Trustees, staff, Friends, and volunteers all work to achieve the right balance between the provision of a community facility and support for the environment. Walk starts at 2.00 pm from The Gatehouse York Cemetery

21st October 2007
Autumn Colours Tour - Join our leisurely stroll through the fantastic autumn displays, a Guided Tour with our expert taking you to all the best bits!! 1.00 pm Thorp Perrow Arboretum, Bedale

22nd October 2007
'Beat Poetry Night - The Beat' - Hep and happening the ones in black talk back. Amid the smoke and percussive bass beats the gone generation meet the Parisian chic to mix beat and verse libre improvising around all the revolutionary writers at on fell swoon. Get organic with Ade Spen'low, Gothic Moll and the GSmith Combo. With special guests from Rimbaud to Whitman - Baudelaire to Koch - Plath to Ginsberg 8.00 pm Basement Bar City Screen Cinema Coney Street Adrian Spendlow

22-26th October 2007
Potato Week - A week long celebration of the 'spud'... activities for every one... anything and everything to do with the humble spud! Ryedale Folk Museum

22-26th October 2007
Rural Crafts & 'Hands on History' - Families offer week - discounted entry for only £5.00 Beck Isle Museum Pickering

22-27th October 2007
VETRNAETR - After a summer of raids the JORVIK Vikings are returning to York to celebrate the festival of Vetrnaetr, which welcomes the return of the winter nights. Between the 22nd and the 27th October, visitors will have the chance to participate in themed activities, including scary Halloween mask-making and the creation of wolves, trolls and witches to inhabit our spooky landscape of Jarnvid (Iron Wood). The Vikings will also be demonstrating their abilities at various crafts and textiles, as well as offering visitors a chance to try their hand at Viking finger knitting, tablet weaving and lucet making. To top off what will be an unforgettable Halloween of fun, acclaimed children's author Kjartan Poskitt will be launching his new book, 'Urgum and the Seat of Flames', with a special appearance in Coppergate Square on Saturday 27th October. The bestselling author will be on hand between 11.00 am and 2.00 pm to meet fans and discuss his many literary creations. The book will receive its official launch at midday, when Kjartan will give an exclusive reading from the book in his own unique style! 10.00 am - 4.00 pm Coppergate Square JORVIK Viking Centre

22-27th October 2007
York Stage Musicals present - Brassed Off Based on the critically acclaimed film, Brassed Off tells how hardship and lost pride are overcome by community spirit, young love and the sheer emotional power of a live brass band! It's the early 90s, the threat of mine closures umbrella the nation. The miners of Grimley Colliery live under a cloud - their pit is under threat and the colliery band is on the verge of breaking up, then comes along Gloria, with flugelhorn in tow. Determined to prove her talent and win her place in the band, she brings fresh enthusiasm to the deflated troops, where anything becomes possible… Touching on major issues - the changing roles of men and women, the tension between community and individual aspirations - with an overwhelming blend of tears and cheers, Brassed Off has already been hailed as a "modern classic". The production will feature live music every night from the highly acclaimed Shepherd Group Brass Band 7.30 pm Performed at - The Joseph Rowntree Theatre Tickets only from York Theatre Royal

22nd October - 31st December 2007
Exhibition - ENGLISH CERAMICS - an exhibition spanning 250 years of ceramics collecting at Rode Hall, Cheshire. One of the most important collections of English ceramics still in private handsand the first time such a signicant part has been loaned for exhibition. All the great Engish manufacturers are represented and include pieces from Derby, Chelea and Maw & Co., superbly catalogued by Julie McKeown in her recent book Fairfax House

23rd October 2007
'How the Minster was Built' - A fascinating tour to see how this great church was built by the medieval masons, with a glimpse of the modern stoneyard 10.30 am YorkWalk

23rd October 2007
'The Autumn Sky' - Take a closer look at the Autumn Sky with our astronomer Martin Lunn in these two half-term talks in the Yorkshire Museum 11.30 am & 2.00 pm Yorkshire Museum

23rd October 2007
'Medieval Stained Glass' - Inaccessible and Hidden York Tour. A unique chance to enter parts of York never normally open to the public, to climb turrets, descend into Roman remains, explore secret passageways, crypts, medieval churches and hidden Georgian interiors. The theme for each tour is different 2.15 pm YorkWalk

23rd October 2007
Yorkshire Philosophical Society Lecture Programme - General theme for the year: "Controversy and Risk." This evening - How should we teach science to the young? A Lecture by Prof Robin Millar, University of York. 7.30 pm. Contact 01904 656713 for further details Tempest Anderson Hall, Yorkshire Museum Gardens Yorkshire Philosophical Society

23rd October 2007
Malinky - Malinky are Jon Bews fiddle, Steve Byrne vocals, guitar, bouzouki, cittern, Mark Dunlop vocals, flute, whistles, bodhran, Fiona Hunter vocals, cello and Ewan MacPherson guitar, mandolin. They are one of the most distinctive bands to emerge from the youthful end of the Caledonian folk scene, placing their emphasis firmly on traditional song, with three complementary lead vocalists, including Fiona Hunter admirably filling the slot vacated by Karine Polwart. Using rich and varied instrumental arrangements, they give a fresh and lively take on Scottish music 7.30 pm The National Centre for Early Music

24th October 2007
'Mansion, Cellar and Priest Hole' - Inaccessible and Hidden York Tour. A unique chance to enter parts of York never normally open to the public, to climb turrets, descend into Roman remains, explore secret passageways, crypts, medieval churches and hidden Georgian interiors. The theme for each tour is different. 10.30 am YorkWalk

24th October 2007
York St John University Open Day - YSJU hold a number of Open Days throughout the year, to give you a chance to see whether York St John is the right place for you. Choosing where to study can be a difficult decision, so we encourage all our applicants to visit us before making a final choice. You can meet our staff, find out more about our undergraduate degrees, look around our facilities, chat to our current students and generally get a feel for York St John University York St John University

24th October 2007
'Observe the Sun' - Join Martin Lunn at the York Observatory to observe our closest star, The Sun 11.00 am - 1.00 pm Yorkshire Museum

24th October 2007
'Graveyard, Coffins And Crypt Tour' - Visit the hidden city of the dead; descend to a secret crypt, sample Roman and medieval coffins and visit plague sites 2.15 pm YorkWalk

24th October 2007
York Concerts - ENSEMBLE 360 play Mendelssohn - Konzertstuck in F minor op. 113 Spohr - Quintet for piano and wind in C minor and Schubert - String Quartet in G D.887 Ensemble 360° starts its second year as the University's ensemble in residence with a programme of three attractive early 19th century works featuring the core groups of a wind quintet and the Elias String Quartet. Since the group's formation in 2005, Ensemble 360° has established a notable career both in Sheffield, where the players are based, and around the country as well as releasing well-reviewed CDs of music by Mozart and Spohr 7.30 pm Jack Lyons Concert Hall UoY York Concerts

24th October 2007
JEZ LOWE AND THE BAD PENNIES in CONCERT - Jez Lowe's band, The Bad Pennies, have been one of the high points of the international folk scene for over a decade, frequently touring to the USA, Canada, Australia and beyond! This time they are touring Jez Lowe's new album 'Jack Common's Anthem' as well as a prestigious back catalogue of classics. Jez Lowe was recently described as 'one of our best songwriters' by BBC Radio 2 and his songwriting work for the BBC 'Radio Ballads' series was honoured by a SONY Radio Academy Award. His lively, toe-tapping melodies and bittersweet lyrics are complimented by the excellent band line-up of Kate Bramley (fiddle/ duet vocals), Tyneside champion Northumbrian piper Andy May (pipes, whistles, piano) and fretless bass supremo David de la Haye (bass/ vocals). Recent album reviews: "One of the folkscene's great unsung heroes... His best album for some time." MIKE HARDING, BBC RADIO 2; "A profoundly impressive new album. Lowe has earned the right to be counted among England's finest contemporary songwriters." DAILY TELEGRAPH, UK; "An affirmation, and a development! Quintessential Jez!" FROOTS, UK 8.00 pm Basement Bar City Screen Cinema Coney Street

24th October 2007
Autumn Colours Tour - Join our leisurely stroll through the fantastic autumn displays, a Guided Tour with our expert taking you to all the best bits!! 1.00 pm Thorp Perrow Arboretum, Bedale

24th October 2007
Scarborough Jazz @ The Cask present - Andy Hillier Andy started playing trombone at twelve years after hearing his hero George Chisholm on record. His tastes have developed from Dixieland to include a wide love of all jazz. Some of his favourites included trombone legends such as Vic Dickenson, Roy Williams and Carl Fontana. Andy travels Europe frequently playing in jazz festivals and clubs and with big bands as a feature soloist. Last seen at the Cask with The Heavy Horns The Cask Inn Scarborough Scarborough Jazz

24-26th October 2007
It's A Monk's Life - Join us for a family tour of the Abbey. Dress in monks' robes and learn about their daily life. £1 plus normal admission for 7s and over. Meet at the Visitor Centre 2.00 pm Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Gardens

25th October 2007
the deep blues club - bringing the best in blues to York - present Carvin Jones "Carvin Jones is a young cat out of Phoenix who I think is the next up-and-coming blues player" - Eric Clapton. "Carvin Jones is one of the brightest young stars on the blues scene today" - Albert Collins. "The New King of Strings is Carvin Jones" - Buddy Miles. ". . . one of the best blues guitarists in the world . . ." - London Surrey News 8.00 pm The Post Office Club Marygate the deep blues club

25th October 2007
'Adrinskald's Table' - I am Adrinskald Samsson poet for the Jorvik Festival and Will's cater specially for us to provide 'my table' - a Viking supper. The boats return, the halls are filled, fires burn and hearts are chilled! Adrinskald presents an evening of scary tales! To be totally truthful I haven't made my mind up what to tell yet, but there will be elements of spookiness yes. And it will be all action with strange voices and stranger faces. Not that I make it all up! The world of myth is deep within me and I bring my unique approach as a writer and performer to bring something new every time (or is that making it up?) 8.00 pm William's Bar Goodramgate Adrian Spendlow

25th October 2007 York Theatre Royal presents The Pasadena Roof Orchestra. An evening of rare musical entertainment, of toe-tapping fun and syncopated sophistication. With ten multi-talented musicians and two sensational singers the Pasadena Roof Orchestra celebrates the repertoire of great entertainers, including Louis Armstrong, Bing Crosby and Billie Holiday York Theatre Royal

25th October 2007
The Black Swan Folk Club present - Steve Turner A mainstay of the club scene in the 70's (with Geordie band Canny Fettle), then solo in the 80's, Steve recently resumed limited gigging and visits the Black Swan for the first time since 1989! A grand singer, he plays concertina, cittern and mandola on a repertoire of mostly traditional songs, including some "big ballads" plus the occasional music hall and modern number 8.00 pm Black Swan, Peasholme Green B.S.F.C.

25th October 2007
Witches & Wizards - a Halloween Family Activities Day. 11.00 am Kiplin Hall Scorton

25th October 2007
Happen: Ian McMillan & Henwen - Poet, comedian & broadcaster Ian McMillan is poet-in-residence for Barnsley FC, Yorkshire TV's investigative poet and a regular on Newsnight Review, The Mark Radcliffe Show, The Today Programme and Have I Got News For You. Henwen are five singing Yorkshire women performing stunning contemporary acappella - big blues, old folk, new country and sizzling swing Selby Town Hall

25th October 2007
Mirth Control Comedy Club Featuring Nick Doody plus guests - Nick supported Bill Hicks on his final tour of the UK, at Bill's request. Since then Nick has become a familiar face on the comedy circuit and as a writer for such shows as BBC4's Late Edition and Channel 4's FAQ U, 8 Out Of 10 Cats and Friday Night Live and BBC3's The Comic Side of 7 Days. Sharp, topical and not afraid to say what he thinks, his brand of political comedy and satire has won fans all over the country. "Very impressive … unfailingly good punchlines … intelligent and funny … comes with the chortle seal of approval" CHORTLE 8.00 pm Pocklington Arts Centre

25-27th October 2007
1812 Theatre Company in Chamber Theatre Plus 1 - A studio bar presentation Ionesco and Jean Paul Tardieu, thankfully translated from the original French, and linked by piano music by Juan Jose Castro and Jacques Ibert; the interval to be followed by a one-act play Old Saybrook by Woody Allen, thankfully performed in the original American. The whole extravagant incident to be introduced and conducted by Richard Noakes, back by his own popular demand, and featuring a cast of old favourites and usual suspects. Come and indulge yourselves (and us) in manic laughter and unseasonable merriment. 7.30 pm Helmsley Arts Centre

25-27th October 2007
THE OLD COUNTRY - Local amateur theatre company Woodlands Drama Group peform Alan Bennett's poignant play. Hilary and Bron appear to be a perfectly normal married couple in late middle age, living in a small, peaceful house in the country. But things are not as they seem in Alan Bennett's witty and touching drama about love, patriotism and betrayal, presented by the award-winning Woodlands Drama Group. Performed in Harrogate Theatre Studio Theatre. This is an amateur performance Harrogate Theatre 26th October 2007 Grandparents and Grandchildren Tour - have you ever wondered how the Georgians coped without electricity? How they went to the toilet? Did they use soap? Who did the washing up? How food was presented on the table and what they ate? These and many more answers are provided in this special tour for young people and their grandparents. 3.30 pm Fairfax House

26th October 2007
House Concert - Angie Palmer and Romi Mayes Angie Palmer's 2003 album 'Road' featured songs that have strong European influenced narratives (philosophy, literature, cinema). From Mojo to Maverick the music press received the album with 4 and 5 star reviews and she has been compared by many with Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell thanks to lyrics described by reviewers as intelligent and literate. For others her potent mix of country, blues, and folk, served up with equal measures of aggression and tenderness, has led her to be called the British Lucinda Williams. "One of Britain's Best current Singer-Songwriters...absolutely gorgeous...wonderful music on this album Road" Bob Harris BBC R2 Romi Mayes - "This is the sort of sound you'd want to hear pouring out of roadhouses as you drive up expecting to get drunk and maybe fall in love." - Americana UK Magazine. Raised in the concentrated and extraordinarily talented music community of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Mayes' writing and performing has been nurtured since she was a young teen. Now, at age 32, Romi Mayes has shared the stage with the likes of Billy Joe Shaver, Ricky Skaggs, Iris Dement, Gurf Morlix, Joe Ely, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Bo Ramsey, Pieta Brown, Hayes Carll, Jim Cuddy, Corb Lund, Lynn Miles, Barney Bentall, Martha Wainwright, Fred Eaglesmith, Ray Condo, Camper Van Beethoven, and many more House Concerts

26th October 2007
Behind the Scenes at Ormesby - A chance to find out more about Ormesby, its collections and conservation work. 1.30 - 3.00 pm Ormesby Hall

26-28th October 2007
York Roman Festival - The York Roman Festival is an annual extravaganza of York's Roman history. A celebration of the cultural and military customs the Romans brought to York and the history of Britain. The events and activities we are endeavouring to bring to this years festival include: March around the City by approx 100 re-enactors Children's creative activities Spirit of the Lost Legion ghost event Roman talks Living History Camp Romans versus Barbarians battles Gladiator competitions Chariot Race Music Crafts and stalls Various Venues York Roman Festival

26-28th October 2007
Sightsonic Digital Arts Festival - SightSonic is an international digital arts festival that presents the very best work that has digital technology at the heart of the creative process. "SightSonic does a great job demonstrating that the technology can and does enable and make possible many creative projects from visual art, cinema, music, performance and theatre, through to new media unknown before computers." Peter Fluck, Digital Artist "SightSonic brings together some of the most exciting and interesting creations within the digital arts." Craig Vear, Arts Council and British Antarctic Survey Composer in Residence "SightSonic is a wonderful meeting of cutting-edge ideas and international talent right here in the City of York." Ambrose Field, Ars Electronica (Linz) Prize winner 1996, 1997 We've also had digital poetry, literature, jazz, dance and comedy Various Venues SightSonic

26-28th October 2007
Keighley & Worth Valley Railway - Beer & Music Weekend. The annual Beer & Music Festival has grown into a hugely popular event, with around 100 different real ales available on the trains and in the Oxenhope Festival Bar. There's live music and dance throughout the weekend plus hot food from the station buffets and in the Festival bar Keighley & Worth Valley Railway

26-31st October 2007
York Ghost Festival - York based PSI (Psychic and Spectral Investigations) will be celebrating York's haunted heritage in all it's glory (or should that be gory?!) with a packed agenda of ghostly goings-on including the opportunity to take place in a real ghost-hunt York Ghost Festival

26th October - 3rd November 2007
Illuminating York 2007 - Experience a new side to York after dark during Illuminating York with cutting-edge outdoor artwork, exhibitions, site-specific performances and tours in some of the ancient city's many special places LUX - Putting the spotlight on local talent, LUX is a trail of 12 light-based artworks by recent graduates of York St John University. The artists will use performance, film, projection and some surprising media to explore the life of the street and reveal its beauty after dark.
The Performances
Sat 27 Oct, 7pm Live art: Strong Hours Place by Walker & Stannage, De Grey Rooms
Sat 27 Oct, 5 - 8pm AV installation: Found Sound by Shelley Clarkson, Miller's Yard
Thurs 1 & Fri 2 Nov, 6 & 7pm A theatrical tour: My Friend Anya, My Friend Jess by Jess Scantlebury & Co, tours start at Bootham Bar at 6 & 7pm sharp
Sat 3 Nov Theatre: The Recollection Collection, a solo performance by Jess Scantlebury, Millers Yard
Tues 30 Oct, 5 - 8pm a film by Yorkshire Film Archive, Salvation Army Chapel The Trail, 5 - 8pm - 1. Sound Organisation, Horizon Series by Nathan Chenery; 2. A dark alley, Love by Kruse; 3. Bubbles, August Hilliard and Friends by Alasdair Beckett-King; 4. Gillygate Framers, A winding Thread by Catherine Scriven; 5. Miller's Yard, Green and Pleasant Land by Abbigail Wright; 6. Soles, Fashionable 60's York by the Yorkshire Film Archive; 7. Snowhome, Where can one flee, where can we find refuge? by Kim Phillips; 8. Cert 18, Booze Britain by Hannah Boyes; 9. Expecting, Untitled III by Meg Boulton; 10. Venue TBC, Captured Light by Alice Stevens; 11. Sanctuary, Impressions of a Childhood Memory by Kate Sleight; 12. Tarts n Tit Bits (First floor windows), Ivy by Alasdair Beckett-King 5.00 - 8.00 pm Gillygate Illuminating York 2007

26th October - 3rd November 2007
Illuminating York 2007 - Experience a new side to York after dark during Illuminating York with cutting-edge outdoor artwork, exhibitions, site-specific performances and tours in some of the ancient city's many special places York Theatre Royal presents Museum Gardens After Dark: Illuminating YorkWritten by Richard Hurford. Directed by Owen Calvert-Lyons and Julian Ollive Ever wondered what happens in the ancient gardens when the gates are locked and night closes in? Another world comes to life. A hidden world. A world which has been locked away… until now. Join York Theatre Royal Youth Theatre for a theatrical tour of the Yorkshire Museum Gardens; one of York's most intriguing outdoor spaces. This exciting promenade performance, specially commissioned for this year's Illuminating York event will take you on a journey which truly brings the Yorkshire Museum Gardens to life. See the gardens in a whole new light Illuminating York 2007

26th October - 3rd November 2007
Illuminating York 2007 - Experience a new side to York after dark during Illuminating York with cutting-edge outdoor artwork, exhibitions, site-specific performances and tours in some of the ancient city's many special places Evoke by Usman Haque. Evoke is an interactive projection that will light up York Minster's western façade, members of the public will use their own voices to create colourful light patterns that emerge at the building's foundations and soar up towards the sky. Resembling electricity, rapidly growing roots or electronic marbles, the graphically animated colours, determined by the particular voice characteristics of each person, will skim the surface of the Minster, pour round its features and crevasses, and disappear through windows, emerging finally near the top of the façade where they will sparkle high overhead. 6.00 - 11.00 pm York Minster, West Front Illuminating York 2007

27th October 2007
Up the Garden Path - Guided walks with Ormesby's gardener. 2.00 - 3.30 pm Ormesby Hall

27th October 2007
THE BLUE BISHOPS...along with a return support slot for DO$CH 7.30 pm The Shire Hall Howden Howden Live

27/28th October 2007
'The Halloween Ghost Inn Tour of York' - with Gothic Molly and Adrian Spendlow. The wacky pair of acclaimed theatrical storytellers take you on an unmissable journey of haunted pubs in the most ghostly city in Europe. Dare you join them? Storytelling at its best and ghostliest in the actual locations of the hauntings 8.00 pm The Golden Fleece Pavement Adrian Spendlow

27/28th October 2007
Wizard Weekend - A magical day out with magicians, magic shows, live owls and more North Yorkshire Moors Railway

27/28th October 2007
Haunted Halloween - Victorian Stories . It is close to the eve of All Saints - Halloween - and you think you are brave, fearless and daring. Well think again! Join in this series of tales and stories with our costumed storyteller - Sessions at 4.00 pm, 5.30 pm, 7.00 pm & 8.30 pm. Wear warm clothes (perhaps a waterproof!), sensible footwear. This event is not suitable for very young children. Pre booking is essential, places are limited please phone the site to book on 01439 770442 Helmsley Castle

27/28th October 2007
A Grand Tour of Studley Royal - A free tour taking in the grand design of the Georgian landscape including Deer Park and Water Garden. Meet at the Visitor Centre. 1.30 pm Daily Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Gardens

27/28th October 2007
Hallowe'en - Ghostly goings-on in the Engine House. Dare you travel through the Great Tunnel? Middleton Railway Leeds

28th October 2007
'The Historic Toilet Tour' - A saga of convenience through the ages from Roman hygiene to the 18th century 'Sugar' House and 19th century attempts to prevent 'nuisance' and promote public decency. Also the chance to sample the dubious delights of the medieval garderobe! 10.30 am YorkWalk

28th October 2007
'Guy Fawkes Trail' - Explore the (several!) birthplaces and haunts of one of York's most infamous sons - Guy Fawkes of Gunpowder Plot fame 2.15 pm YorkWalk

28th October 2007
Capercaillie in Concert The Grand Opera House York

28th October 2007
Upstairs Downstairs Tour - Explore Hidden Nostell with this behind-the-scenes tour of the House. See the unrestored servants quarters and the stones and beams of the original Priory. Booking Essential. 12.30 pm Nostell Priory 28th October 2007 Military, Avionics and Radio Autojumble South Yorkshire Aircraft Museum Doncaster

28th October 2007
Autumn Drive In - 6.00 - 8.00pm. A free floodlit drive through the estate for less able visitors. Enter via Studley Lake and exit via Fountains Hall Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal Gardens 28th October 2007 Richie Havens - Richie Havens is gifted with one of the most recognizable voices in popular music. His fiery, poignant, always soulful singing style has remained unique and ageless since he first emerged from the Greenwich Village folk scene in the early 1960's. It's a voice that electrified audiences at Woodstock in 1969, to the Clinton Presidential Inauguration in 1993 - coming full circle with the 30th Woodstock Anniversary celebration, "A Day In The Garden". Richie's Woodstock appearance proved to be a major turning point in his career. As the festival's first performer, he held the crowd spellbound for nearly three hours, called back for encore after encore. Having run out of tunes, he improvised a song based on the old spiritual "Motherless Child" that became "Freedom", a song now considered to be the anthem of a generation 8.00 pm Pocklington Arts Centre

28th October 2007
The Backbeat Beatles - She Loves You, Penny Lane, I Wanna Hold Your Hand, Please Please Me and much more... This tribute band was formed in 1994 by Chris O'Neill inspired by his successful acting performance in the BAFTA winning Beatle film Backbeat. All from the Liverpool area, the lads have long shared a mutual admiration for The Beatles and are now probably the biggest Beatles tribute band on the market. 'Probably the nearest you'll get to the real thing.' Daily Mirror 7.30 pm Helmsley Arts Centre

29th October 2007
Illustrated Talk - Ceramics for the Dessert - an illustrated lecture which celebrates the exhibition of English Ceramics on loan from Rode Hall in Cheshire to Fairfax House. Peter Brown, Director of Fairfax House, explains the evolution of the porcelain Dessert Service, from Chinese armorial extravagances created for 'Nabobs' such as Lord Dundas, to the later production of British manufacturers like Worcester and Derby, who catered for an increasingly wealthy and affluent society. 7.00 pm Talk given at - National Centre for Early Music Fairfax House

29th October 2007
Norman Lovett's Slide Show - The veteran stand-up, certifiable comedy legend and Red Dwarf star returns for his latest show. Norman is one of the best known stand-ups in the business, and has helped launch the careers of Simon Pegg, Jessica Stevenson and Julian Barrett of The Mighty Boosh, as well as supporting punk legends The Clash! Norman is supported on tour by rising star Andrew O'Neill Selby Town Hall

29th October - 2nd November 2007
Illuminating York 2007 - Experience a new side to York after dark during Illuminating York with cutting-edge outdoor artwork, exhibitions, site-specific performances and tours in some of the ancient city's many special places Late Night Opening at York Art Gallery - Exhibition, drop-in workshops and related activities: As the clocks change to signal the beginning of winter come and see the exhibition Marking Time and discover how artists like Turner, Sickert and Etty capture time in paint. 6.00 -8.00 pm York Art Gallery Illuminating York 2007

29th October - 2nd November 2007
Illuminating York 2007 - Experience a new side to York after dark during Illuminating York with cutting-edge outdoor artwork, exhibitions, site-specific performances and tours in some of the ancient city's many special places Timed Memory - A sound installation by Angie Atmadjaja. The evening openings of the York Art Gallery exhibition 'Marking Time' will feature a sound installation called 'Timed Memory', created by composer and sound artist Angie Atmadjaja. 'Timed memory' explores the nature of memory in a set of one minute phrases, each one being like a Haiku where the aim is for clarity and richness of texture. 6.00 -8.00 pm York Art Gallery Illuminating York 2007

30th October 2007
Catterick Races Catterick Racecourse

30th October 2007
Ocean's Five and A Half By Northumberland Theatre Company. The lads of 'The Flat Pack' love being frank... and Deano and Sammie. The summit of their aspirations is a sharp suit, a cool song, a classy drama, a Jack Daniels and a fistful full of aces. Unfortunately, that's not the hand they've been dealt. They're just three working class lads from the North of England with suits from Oxfam and a big dream - Vegas. And if that dream is snatched away, they'll go to any daft lengths to get it back - any crazy caper, an intricate plan, a tunnel under the butcher's shop if necessary to grasp their dream. Some people think they ought to 'wake up to reality'. A Stewart Howson play with its typical mix of low comedy and high emotion. 'But more, much more than this... they did it their way' 7.30 pm Pocklington Arts Centre 3

0/31st October 2007
Ghostly Myths Tour open evening and Supper - A delicious hot 2-course meal in the Tea Room followed by a tour, deep into the house, of the unexpected. See some rooms of the house as you've never seen them before & understand what historical events here led to the famous accounts of ghostly activity. 6.30 pm. Booking Essential Treasurer's House York

30/31st October 2007
Torchlight Ghost Tours - learn about Kiplin Hall's ghostly inhabitants! Booking Essential 6.00 pm & 8.00 pm Kiplin Hall Scorton

30th October - 2nd November
Illuminating York events - Timed Memory - This installation by sound artist Angie Atmadjaja complements our Marking Time exhibition. Angie explores the nature of memory in a set of one-minute phrases created from synthetic sounds. The installation, which is adapted from a piece that she premiered in New York last year, treats each phrase like a Haiku, aiming for clarity and richness of texture. Angie is a research student in the Department of Music at the University of York York Art Gallery

31st October 2007
York Concerts - FOLKSONGS by Trio Mediaeval with Birger Mistereggen percussion Trio Mediaeval explore their Scandinavian roots with a powerful and compelling programme of Norwegian folk songs. With three acclaimed recordings of sacred music under their belts, they have embarked on this new project, which is also released on the ECM label. They are joined by percussionist Birger Mistereggen, a specialist in the rare Norwegian folk-drum tradition. The songs come from several sources and are ones that they have known since childhood, including the distinctive Norwegian style of tulling - songs without words 7.30 pm Jack Lyons Concert Hall UoY York Concerts

31st October 2007
'The Halloween Ghost Inn Tour of York' - with Gothic Molly and Adrian Spendlow. The wacky pair of acclaimed theatrical storytellers take you on an unmissable journey of haunted pubs in the most ghostly city in Europe. Dare you join them? Storytelling at its best and ghostliest in the actual locations of the hauntings 8.00 pm The Golden Fleece Pavement Adrian Spendlow
31st October 2007
Alternative Autumn Tour (R.H.S.) - An Introduction will be given by Sir John Ropner in his private house then a Guided Tour with Curator Terry Exley will complete your afternoon. Tickets Only. 1.00 pm Thorp Perrow Arboretum, Bedale

31st October 2007
Halloween party 6.00 - 8.00 pm Ryedale Folk Museum

31st October 2007
Halloween Ghost Tours (tickets on sale from 1st September) Burton Constable Hall 31st October 2007 Scarborough Jazz @ The Cask present - Thom Whitworth Thom Whitworth is a great favourite at Scarborough Jazz. Highly regarded by regional musicians he can switch impressively from guitar to trumpet with great ease and has extensive experience on both instruments. When prize winner in the Kenny Baker Memorial Competition the judges commented: 'Good harmonic sense, sound and range … inventive jazz construction … very good ideas and excellent control'. Peter Elsdon will play keyboards The Cask Inn Scarborough Scarborough Jazz

31st October - 3rd November 2007
AMADEUS - Local amateur theatre company Harrogate Dramatic Society perform Peter Shaffer's award winning play. To open the refurbished main auditorium, a stunning tale of jealousy, intrigue and suspected murder in the relationship between Court Composer Salieri and his musical rival, the genius Mozart. Salieri believes Mozart's music is divine but can't understand why God favoured such a vulgar creature to be his instrument. This is an amateur performance Harrogate Theatre

1st November 2007
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds talk by Tom Lawson -"In the footsteps of the Incas" 7.30 pm Temple Hall, York St. John College York RSPB

1st November 2007
The Black Swan Folk Club present - Singers & Musicians Night - All acoustic performers are made welcome, and listeners besides, at our popular Open House session. The more the merrier, so do come along 8.00 pm Black Swan, Peasholme Green B.S.F.C.

1-3rd November 2007
York CAMRA Beer Festival - Remember, remember the 1st of November (and the 2nd and 3rd). York Beer Festival is back with a bang(er), just before Bonfire Night, so our theme this year is Guy Fawkes. One again it will be held at the Priory Street Centre off Micklegate and you can expect plenty of fireworks. Our barrels will not be full of gunpowder, but of some 100 different beers from around the country. The conspirators are meeting regularly at a secret location to plot a menu of light beers, dark beers, milds, strong beers and speciality brews; there will be a larger range of real cider and perry this year too. One unique beer will be brewed by our members at a local brewery, it's sure to be an explosive mixture. There will also be a variety of fruit wines and soft drinks. Have a cracking time at our tombola famous for its brewerania and other stunning (and not so stunning) prizes. Food will be available at all sessions to soak up that ale - bangers are definitely on the menu Priory Street Centre, Micklegate York CAMRA Beer Festival

2nd November 2007
Illuminating York 2007 - Experience a new side to York after dark during Illuminating York with cutting-edge outdoor artwork, exhibitions, site-specific performances and tours in some of the ancient city's many special places Inspire - new ideas in ancient spaces at the Churches of St Wilfrids, St Michael le Belfry, Holy Trinity Goodramgate, St Martin le Grand and St Helens Church. Do you fancy going to a gig, watching live dance, listening to opera or poetry all in one night AND for free? Inspire is a unique event taking you on a cultural journey from one ancient building to the next with mini but major performances from the realms of contemporary music, dance, drama and literature performed in some of York's most charming ancient buildings all in one night 6.00 - 9.00 pm Illuminating York 2007

2nd November 2007
Moishe's Bagel - Guy Nicholson tabla, percussion Mario Caribe double bass Pete Garnett accordion Greg Lawson violin Phil Alexander. Rip-roaring, foot-stomping, jazz-inflected Klezmer and Balkan music from some of Scotland's finest musicians. An intoxicating, life-affirming mix of Eastern European dance music, Middle Eastern rhythms and virtuoso performances. Moishe's Bagel combines the energy and passion of Eastern European folk music with the excitement and soul of improvisation 7.30 pm The National Centre for Early Music

2nd November 2007
York Astronomical Society lecture - "Aurora Watch" - by Dr James Wild, from UK Aurora Watch. James is an enthusiastic speaker and very knowledgable on the Aurora. Come along and be prepared to learn all about how the Aurora is monitored and tracked, and most importantly, how can we maximise our chances of observing it. All are welcome 8.00 pm Denham Room Priory Street Centre Y.A.S.

2nd November 2007
Lunchtime Lectures - Stovin's Diaries of Victorian Ormesby. 12 noon - 12.40 pm. The lecture will be followed by a guided tour Ormesby Hall

2nd November 2007
Slack Alice - Cliff Stocker and the legendary Slack Alice are one of Britain's greatest Blues and Rhythm 'n Blues bands. The brilliant tapestry of the Blues genre is exquisitely crafted from originals interwoven with the superb musicianship of Chris Preston, Colin Redmond, Pietro lo-Guidice and Lee Davis, and overlaid by the spine tingling raw emotion of Stocker's wonderful voice. After 40 years on the road, this show is an absolute gem. British Blues at it's absolute best. It would make Lazarus not only rise up but boogie too! "A smoking gun of an album - the band turn in their finest moment with an emotion charged blues statement" Keith Franzke - N.M.E. "Cliff Stocker's voice is like being wrapped in warm molasses-you can't get enough" BBC 8.00 pm Pocklington Arts Centre

2/3rd November 2007
Antiques Fair - 10:30am - 5:00pm daily Duncombe Park Helmsley

2/3rd November 2007
Wetherby Races Wetherby Racecourse

2-4th November 2007
the big green market - A street market with a conscience. The Big Green market has an exciting list of of ethical street markets planned for the run up to christmas. Stalls range from fairtrade and ethical, to UK made / designed to organic foods and green products... The Big Green Market will be in Parliament Street with a marquee in Sampson square. The market will feature artists who create objects from recycled items, stallholders who specialise in ethically traded clothing and accessories, yummy organic foods as well as delicious fair trade cappucinos - there will something to interest everyone. Recycling and composting roadshow organised by York Rotters and York Council plus Real Nappy event in marquee on Sat 3 November, and recycling bins for mobile phones and bras in aid of Yorkshire Air Ambulance and recycling point for unwanted shoes Big Green Market

3rd November 2007
Mini Farmers' Market - The main principle of the farmers market is that it is local producers selling fresh quality produce direct to local consumers in an atmosphere which promotes dialogue and understanding of food production including environmental and welfare standards. This cuts down food miles and puts money back into the local economy rather than imported goods York Auction Centre Murton Farmers' Market

3rd November 2007
'Guy Fawkes Trail' - Explore the (several!) birthplaces and haunts of one of York's most infamous sons - Guy Fawkes of Gunpowder Plot fame 10.30 am & 5.00 pm YorkWalk

3rd November 2007
The Western Front Association lecture by Leslie McHugh. "The 31st Division on the Somme." Leslie will look at the outcome of the attacks on Serre and Beaumont Hamel made by this famous division 2.30 pm Phoenix Block York St John University WFA - Yorks. Branch

3rd November 2007
Ghostly Myths Tour open evening and Supper - A delicious hot 2-course meal in the Tea Room followed by a tour, deep into the house, of the unexpected. See some rooms of the house as you've never seen them before & unde