SKIPTON:

Dean Taylor Productions is to stage Sheridan’s The Rivals in Skipton Castle. The production features 11 professional actors and musicians in period 18th century dress and will be performed tomorrow (Friday) at 2pm and 7pm and on Saturday at 7pm. Tickets cost £20 for adults, £15 for concessions and £10 for children up to 17. To book, telephone 01772 466256 or email dtproductions@blueyonder.co.uk.

* Skipton Amateur Operatic and Dramatic Society is staging The Wizard of Oz at the Mart Theatre from Tuesday until Saturday.

Visit themarttheatre.org.uk or telephone 01756 791411 for tickets.

* Soprano Emma Kirkby will perform Skipton Music’s December concert. She will perform works by Haydn, Schubert and Amy Beach in Skipton Town Hall, accompanied by pianist James Lisney. The concert starts at 7.30pm and tickets are available from 01756 799912.

* Community choir, the Sheeptown Songsters, will be singing in Craven Court from noon on Saturday to raise money for a local charity.

* More than 50 artists are exhibiting in the Contemporary Craven Christmas exhibition at Skipton’s Craven Museum and Gallery at the town hall.

* Ermysted’s Big Band will perform two Christmas concerts at the school next week. They will take place on Monday and Tuesday at 7.30pm and will include mulled wine and mince pies. Tickets cost £5 for adults and £3 for children and are available from the school office on 01756 792186.

SETTLE:

Home of the Brave will pay tribute to “the finest music the world has ever heard” at the Victoria Hall tomorrow (Friday).

It will mix the history of the great western soundtrack with the story of jazz.

Next Friday, December 10, Jez Lowe and the Bad Pennies will perform their Winter Almanac Radio Roadshow, featuring songs, recitations and comedy, against a backdrop of archive film and photographs. For tickets, log onto settlevictoria-hall.co.uk or call 01729 825718.

* The Gallery on the Green’s latest exhibition is based on the book, A Village Lost and Found, by rock guitarist Brian May and photographic historian Elena Vidal. The exhibition is in 3D and visitors can travel back to the 1850s through a specially-designed stereoscopic viewer.

* Linton Court Gallery is staging an exhibition of landscape art by established and lesser-known artists from Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria. Also on display are watercolours by Glyn Hughes and the late Norman Adams.

GRASSINGTON:

Singers, thespians and musicians will be out in force at the Dickensian Festival. The event opens tomorrow (Friday) and continues over the next three Saturdays.

Among those taking part will be youth theatre group Grass Shoots, the Penny Plain Theatre Company, Barnoldswick Band, the Victorian and Yesteryears Society, Grassington Handbell Ringers and harmony singers Baccapella.

Grassington Players will also be treading the boards at the town hall. Their Dickensian show includes a tribute to the late James Birdsall, founder of Bradley Empire Players, and some of the original Players will re-enact their roles.

There will be performances this Saturday and next Saturday, December 11, as well as a “locals night” on Tuesday December 21. All shows start at 8pm and profits will go to Parkinson’s UK. Tickets cost £7 for adults and £4 for children from Mary Wilkinson on 01756 752740 or the Hub on 01756 752222. Grassington Singers will also give two performances in the town hall as part of the Dickensian celebrations. They will perform a selection of Christmas music on Sunday at 2pm and on Saturday December 18 at 8pm. Tickets cost £7 for the December 5 concert and £8 on December 18. They are also available from Mary Wilkinson or Grassington Hub.

ARNCLIFFE:

A cast of three professional actors will bring pantomime fun to the Amerdale Hall tonight (Thursday). Pocket Panto will stage its version of Aladdin, with singing, dancing, slapstick and audience participation. The show, which starts at 7.30pm, is part of the Rural Arts on Tour programme.

TOSSIDE:

Slaidburn Silver Band will give a Christmas concert in the community hall on Sunday at 2.30pm.

SUTTON-IN-CRAVEN:

Sutton Amateurs’ pantomime Alice in Wonderland is being performed in the village hall. The show runs until Saturday with performances at 7.15pm as well as a 2.15pm matinee on Saturday. Tickets are available from 01535 632289.

BARNOLDSWICK:

The Black Theatre Company will perform Professor Bumm’s Christmas Story Machine at the Rainhall Centre on Saturday. It is described as a pantomime with festive favourites such as Father Christmas, glittering costumes and crackers! The show is suitable for youngsters aged five upwards and tickets cost £5 or £18 for a family of four.

UPPER WHARFEDALE:

Buckden Singers will give Christmas concerts in Kettlewell Village Hall on Friday December 16 and at Buckden Village Institute the following night. Both concerts start at 7.30pm and tickets costing £6 (£3 for children) are available from 01756 760399 or email tickets@Buckden. org.

GLUSBURN:

Local soul band Kelly’s Eye will perform at the institute on Saturday. They specialise in soul and Motown music, with a splash of classic rock, pop and R & B music thrown in.

The Swing Commanders take to the stage next Friday, December 10. The high-energy group from Clitheroe has wowed listeners and dancers alike with its unique presentation of some of the finest music from the 30s, 40s and 50s.

Both gigs start at 7.30pm and tickets are available from 01535 630223.