The official opening of Silsden Town Hall on Saturday, February 8, will act as a showcase for its new theatre facilities.

Local groups are being invited to perform during the afternoon, with support from professional sound and lighting technicians.

A rock band will perform in the evening on a temporary stage in the upstairs function room of the recently-refurbished building.

During the day there will also be a Valentine’s Fair hosted by members of Silsden Gala committee.

The committee is teaming up with Bradford Council, which owns the building, to attract as many Silsden residents as possible to the festivities. The two organisations want to show off the building’s improvements to help generate bookings for both one-off events and regular group meetings. The building first reopened last month for just one day, so that the gala committee could use it for Silsden’s popular annual Christmas market. The event followed several months of refurbishment work by council contractors.

Among the £300,000 of improvements are a lift to the upper floor, new disabled toilets, and a refurbished function room.

Silsden Library has moved into the town hall’s former ground-floor council chamber, from its long-time premises in nearby Wesley Place. The upstairs function room has been equipped with a new mixing desk and sound and lighting equipment.

District councillor Andrew Mallinson, who spearheaded the refurbishment project, said he would be “absolutely delighted” to see crowds of people attending the opening day and added: “The refurbishment has been talked about positively and negatively for some period of time. People will be impressed when they see the fantastic transformation.”

Organisers hope that local groups, including majorettes, dancers and young actors, will perform during the afternoon of February 8. They will be supported by a professional technician from Kings Hall, Ilkley, one of the district’s top performance venues.

Anyone wishing to get involved should email Margaret Croft at magsgreen64@hotmail.co.uk.