Saltaire Festival 2012

Another artistic event I attended this weekend just gone was Saltaire's 10th Festival, and the weather could not have been more perfect for it!

First, I caught a bit of Morris dancing around the Victoria Hall and Shipley College buildings at lunchtime. Below are Saltaire's own mixed Morris side in action and they were fab!

I had a browse around the wonderful Maker's Fair in the Victoria Hall and could easily have spent a small fortune in there! Then I went on to look around the indoor exhibits (rather empty as it was such a sunny day!). I saw two exhibits in the Exhibition Building (interior shots below)- Aire Valley Arts and Aire Valley Waterways, followed by a visit to the Saltaire Methodist Church for their exhibition by Saltaire Art Group.

The Aire Valley Waterways exhibit was a delight. It featured the photographic work of Tim Smith and captured 3 decades of life around the canal and river that pass through the lovely Saltaire, and captured what these two waterways mean to the town both past and present as sources of leisure, industry etc. Below are some of my favourite photos from the exhibit (held upstairs).

Then downstairs was the Aire Valleys Arts exhibit, which showcased various artist's interpretations of Saltaire. Below are the pieces I particularly enjoyed-

 Kath Bonson

 I love this small painting by Sue Strange- right up my street!

Stunning painting by David Starley. There were a few like this on display by this artist but this was my favourite, simply wonderful.

I then decided to make the most of the sun and did the fantastic 'Saltaire Open Garden Trail', which proved very popular. It was similar to the Arts Trail, only instead of looking at art inside people's living rooms and kitchens you got to nosey around their gardens instead! It was so much fun and the residents were so welcoming and chatty, I loved it! I thought it was brilliant how everyone had done something different and unique with their space, no matter the size or dimension restrictions. It gave me big- time property envy all over again (moving to Saltaire is top of my to- do list!!!).

After that I caught some more Morris dancing in the lovely Roberts Park, as well as so some live music and sunshine. All in all a gorgeous and pleasurable day- I'd certainly recommend the Festival as a day out. It's on till this Sunday and there's still plenty coming up and going on, so why not visit the Festival website for more info and plan your own trip there for this week or weekend? http://www.saltairefestival.co.uk.