Sea of fish provide stylish opening to 2017 Grassington Festival

Grassington’s National Park Centre was a hive of activity on a humid Saturday morning as the sea-themed parade began to take shape.

The buzz of excitement grew as children gathered with their rainbow larger-than-life sea puppets. The 200-strong swathe of 'amphibians', with an enormous three-metre yellow and pink sparkly whale at its helm, then paraded through the Dales village.

“It really all came together on the day,” said Carine Bosse, artist and mastermind of the Under the Sea display.

Volunteer-assisted festival art workshops for families to create parade puppets from willow and tissue paper and creative arts sessions in six Wharfedale schools over the previous weeks culminated in the visual spectacle.

The Loud Minority Samba Band in colourful kit, banged their drums, and joyously led the procession around the crowd-lined cobbled streets of Grassington.

The carnival of sea creature puppet creations in the procession included both young and old, and children of all ages, donned in their self-made fish headdresses, basked in the sunshine.

Their fantastical octopuses, stingrays, sharks and jellyfish swayed high in the sky, lurching above the crowd of onlookers.

Spectators and festival procession participants then gathered together to enjoy music and events in Grassington’s Festival Square throughout the day.

A special Great Get Together picnic in memory of Jo Cox brought the community together with home-made cakes, and the Rusty Bus provided quirky children's activities in an outdoor setting.

There was music from the Bradford Grammar School Concert Band, Nicola Mills and the Durham Cathedral Choristers, and jazz and trumpet performances from Hope and Social, the result of workshops held during the day.

The 15-day annual festival not only pulls in big household names, such a Bananarama and Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, but it also celebrates very local activities such as dry stone walling, Dales walking and lead mining archaeology. There is something for everyone.

The remaining schedule for the 2017 Grassington Festival is as follows:

Tuesday, June 20

Festival Hall – Derek Eland, 8pm

Wednesday, June 21

The Square, Festival Picnic with Red Hippo, 1pm

Festival Hall, An Evening with Sunny Ormonde, 8pm

Thursday, June 22

The Square, Festival Picnic with Snake Davis and Jess Gillam, 1pm

Festival Hall, Snake Davis and The Suspicions with Jess Gillam, 8pm

Friday, June 23

Linton, Explore The Dales Guided Walk, 10.30am

The Square, Festival Picnic with Jake Keating, 1pm

The Octagon, Rails in the Dales, 3pm

Festival Hall, The Last Supper – Reckless Sleepers, 8pm

Saturday, June 24

Burnsall, Dry Stone Walling (Intermediates), 10am to 3.30pm

Festival Hall, Family Drop-in Workshop – A Sea Exhibition, noon to 4pm

Festival in the Square, 11am to 7pm

Festival Hall, Skerryvore and Edwina Hayes, 8pm

Sunday, June 25

Festival in the Square, A Day of Stories, 11am to 4pm

The Octagon, Wrongsemble, 2pm

Threshfield Quarry, Guided Walk, 10.30am to 1.30pm

Scargill House, The Heath Quartet, 3.30pm

Festival Hall, Stand-Up Comedy Live at the Festival Hall, 8pm

Tuesday, June 27

Festival Hall, Humans of the Dales, noon to 4pm (until July 1)

Games Room, Festival Hall, Lecture “The K Walk” with Patrick Baddeley, 1pm

Festival in the Field Marquee, Jools Holland and his Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, 8pm

Wednesday, June 28

Games Room, Festival Hall, Lecture “The Beautiful Universe” with Richard Darn, 1pm

The Octagon, Otello ROH Live Broadcast, 7.15pm

Festival in the Field Marquee, The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, 8pm

Thursday, June 29

Games Room, Festival Hall, Lecture “Climate Change: Friend or Foe?” with Richard Darn, 1pm

Festival in the Field Marquee, Clare Teal and her Hollywood Orchestra led by Guy Barker, 8pm

Friday, June 30

The Cavendish Pavilion Grounds, Bolton Abbey, Illyria The Emperor’s New Clothes, 6pm

Festival in the Field Marquee, Newton Faulkner with Holy Moly and The Crackers, 8pm

Saturday, July 1

Festival in the Square, 11am to 4pm

Festival in the Field Marquee, Bananarama with The Opera Comic and Back Chat Brass, 7pm