SKIPTON: One hundred performers and supporters from America and South Africa are travelling to Skipton for a special musical weekend.

Two overseas groups will perform at Skipton Town Hall as an extension of the 22nd International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival which is being staged in Harrogate.

The New York-based Blue Hill Troupe will give a special concert on Saturday at 7.30pm and the Cape Town Gilbert and Sullivan Society will stage a full production of The Mikado on Sunday at 2.30pm.

Tickets are available in person from the Tourist Information Centre in the Town Hall, call 01756 792809 or visit gsfestivals.org.

* Popular country music Jonny Williams and Lynnette Marie will return to the Iron Horse Country Music Club on Saturday.

The pair, who are popular on the UK country music scene, were named Band of the Year for the second year running at the Border Country Music Club, Berwick-on-Tweed in January.

They will perform at the White Rose Club, on Newmarket Street, at 7.30pm.

* Craven Museum and Gallery's current exhibition celebrates two of the town's internationally-renowned festivals, which will be staged in the autumn.

A Tale of Two Festivals showcases the delights of the Yarndale Festival in September and the Puppet Festival in October.

Yarndale celebrates all things woolly, with an impressive selection of exhibitors, stunning exhibitions, skill demonstrations and a full programme of textile workshops.

And as a taster to the event on September 26 and 27, Yarndale has set up a woolly exhibition in the museum.

Visitors can even become a living exhibit, by knitting and nattering in the gallery!

Skipton Puppet Festival is held once every two years and is now famous across Europe.

From small beginnings, it has grown into a not-to-be-missed event with 40 international performers and acts for adults as well as for children.

It will take place from October 2 to 4.

For the exhibition, The British Puppet and Model Theatre Guild - the oldest puppetry organisation in the world - has loaned a wide range of puppets.

A Tale of Two Festivals will run until October 4 and for more details about the two events, visit yarndale.co.uk and skiptonpuppetfestival.co.uk.

* Mill Bridge Gallery is hosting an exhibition of work by artist Judy Sale.

Travel on The Edge shows Judy’s bright, bold abstract canvasses, which have been inspired by the many countries in which she has lived and worked.

American-born Judy, who now lives in Haworth, is also involved in restoring ancient buildings.

The exhibition will run until Saturday, August 29.

* Skipton Folk Unplugged will hold a Singers Night on Monday.

The club meets at the Narrow Boat pub from 8.30pm and all are welcome.

SETTLE: The new Gavagan Art Gallery, in Settle Town Hall, is holding its first exhibition.

Called Beyond the Horizon: Paintings of North Yorkshire and Provence, it features work by Norman Adams.

A professor at the Royal Academy Schools, he bought a house at Horton-in-Ribblesdale in the 1950s and the rugged North Craven landscape proved an inspiration.

The exhibition features a number of works from this period which haven't previously been exhibited as well as watercolours painted in Provence where Adams sought inspiration from the landscape which had influenced Van Gogh, a painter he greatly admired.

The exhibition will run until August 31.

* The Lime Gallery at The Courtyard has launched its summer exhibition.

It features work by artists Hester Cox, Margaret Uttley, Pam Grimmond, Colin Binns, Casey Allum, Tracy Levine, Anna Tosney and Sarah Cemmick.

The exhibition runs until August 31.

* Phone calls are the inspiration of the Gallery on the Green's latest exhibition.

The gallery is housed in a decommissioned phone box and the exhibition, Call Me, is a written collage of notable literary telephone dialogues.

It has been put together by Ellen Bell and Jo Hamill and remembers the days before smart phones, mobiles and even landlines, when private telephone conversations had to be conducted inside a public call box.

Call Me runs until next Saturday, August 15, and further details are available from Settle Tourist Information Centre or online at galleryonthegreen.org.uk.

* Visitors to The Museum of North Craven Life have the choice of two exhibitions.

Community Skills tells the story of the potteries in Burton-in-Lonsdale, which were fired up in the mid 18th century and showcases around 60 pots from the museum’s collection.

It runs until November 1.

The second exhibition, Reality Hits Home, focuses on the First World War and contrasts the frontline experiences of the volunteers with life at home where people were fearful for the first time of enemy attack from the skies.

It will run until the end of August.

For more information, call 01729 822854 or visit ncbpt.org.uk/folly.

* Settle Music will hold one of its popular guitar sessions next Friday, August 14.

It will take place at Settle Primary School from 7pm to 9pm and the cost is £5.

* Disco band Big G will provide the music at a charity disco dance at Settle's Victoria Hall next Friday, August 14.

It has been organised by the Castleberg Lodge of Freemasons and proceeds will support the work of Age UK in Settle and district.

Tickets cost £15, which includes supper, and can be obtained from Mr B Ogden on 01729 824223 or 07974 300172 or Mr A Simpson on 01729 825389 or 07891 322096. They are also available at Victoria Hall and the Age UK shop in Settle.

ARNCLIFFE: Skipton Brass Band will play at Littondale Fete on Saturday.

The event starts at 1pm.

BOLTON ABBEY: Opera singer Alexandra Lowe - who has just won a prestigious scholarship with the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation - will return to Bolton Abbey on Saturday.

Following a successful concert last year, she will perform at the Priory Church at 7.30pm, with the proceeds going to the Boyle and Petyt School Foundation at nearby Beamsley.

She will be joined by baritone Thomas Isherwood, mezzo soprano Hollie-Anne Bangham, violinist Joy Becker and pianist Simon Passmore.

The concert will be preceded by a champagne reception at Bolton Hall.

For further information and tickets, contact Carol on 01756 710258 or the priory office on 01756 710238.

GRASSINGTON: Rawdon artist Michael Curran is exhibiting his Dales watercolours in the ladies' room at the town hall.

The exhibition runs until next Sunday, August 16.