Step back in time at summer festival’s ‘1963’ dinner evening

And now one of the flagship events at the Ilkley Summer Festival in Leeds will be named after it.

The ‘Summer of’63’ event will be held on August 2.

The festival’s managing director Anne Hawkesworth came up with the idea whilst working as an extra on the BBC’s film of the Great Train Robbery in Leeds.

She said: “Whilst the filming was taking place I remembered the stir the robbery created in 1963.

“Whilst waiting in the long gaps between takes, I began to remember all the other things that happened in that year.

“I thought, ‘it’s 50 years ago but if I can remember them, there must be lots more who can, so let’s have a festival event about it’.”

The event at the King’s Hall in Ilkley on Friday, August 2, will include a drinks reception followed by a meal.

During the event, guest John Thirlwell will tell the audience the story of 1963 with the help of newsreel clips.

The evening will then continue with the Sound of the Sixties live from The Pepper Hearts, recorded by a DJ.

Anne added: “I’m sure it will be a wonderful chance for people to remember that never to be forgotten year as it was, or if they were not yet there, as their parents told them it was.”

This year the Ilkley Summer Festival will be officially opened on Thursday, August 1 at 11am at The Bandstand on The Grove, where the Clifton and Lightcliffe Brass Band will be performing to audiences.

Other highlights of the annual festival will include the Continental Market Weekend, a son et lumiere event based on the Great Gatsby and the roaring 20s, the St Margaret’s Festival Concert, featuring Vivaldi’s Gloria and excerpts of Monteverdi’s vespers, a Dolce Vita Weekend with Dominic Halpin, as well as an Abba Revival tribute band.

For more information or to browse the calendar of events, visit the festival’s website at www.summerfestival.ilkley.org.

Tickets for the Summer of 63 event cost £30, which includes a canapé reception and meal. A reduced price is available for tickets for those wishing to book for a table of ten, totalling £285.

To book or make reservations, go to the Visitor Information Centre in Station Road in Ilkley or call the centre on 01943 602 319.