Main Events 2022
Friday 3oth September
Call My Wine Bluff by Wetherby Twinning Association
7.30pm, St. James Church Centre, Wetherby
A Wetherby Festival favourite to start us off! Taste 6 wines, listen to the 3 ‘experts’ describing them and let your taste buds decide which one is telling the truth. Teams of up to 8 or just come along and join a team. Wine, French bread and cheese supper + prizes included. Lots of fun and laughter guaranteed.
Saturday 1st October
Wetherby Silver Band & The Rock Choir
7.30pm, St. James Church, Wetherby
The Wetherby Silver Band, formed back in 1878, has been providing superb entertainment in Wetherby and beyond for well over 140 years. In this year’s concert, as well as a pot pourri of brass music, both modern and traditional, the band is joined by The Rock Choir who will serenade you with classics of rock with a choral edge led by the accomplished musician and choir leader, Steve Brown.
Sunday 2nd October
Civic Society Walk
2.00pm, Riverside Bandstand, Wetherby
Join members of Wetherby Civic Society for a guided walk and see how our town developed from the building of the castle in 1145, through the building of its bridge, the great fire of 1723, the town’s sale in 1824 up until the installation of the Leaping Salmon in 2000. The walk will include a visit to the Georgian Bath House and Gardens overlooking the river. Meet at the Bandstand on the Riverside Car Park ready to start the walk at 2.00 pm. The full walk takes around 90 minutes.
No booking required.
Comedy Night in Wetherby Town Hall
7.30pm, Town Hall, Wetherby
Two BBC comedians in one night. Neil Delamere (Live at the Apollo, Fighting Talk, The Unbelievable Truth) returns to Wetherby after his fantastic session in 2019 and joins Policeman turned stand-up comedian Alfie Moore from the hit BBC radio show “It’s a Fair Cop” (Chortle Award Nominee 2022).
Wetherby Lions will be providing a bar.
Monday 3rd October
The Chorus Crew
7.30pm, Methodist Church, Wetherby
The Chorus Crew sing a wide variety of traditional folk songs in barbershop harmonising style and are well known for local performances, giving you a traditional evening of music with a memorable difference… and audience interaction guaranteed!
Refreshments available.
Wednesday 5th October
Hues of Autumn by Clair Strike
2.00pm, St. James Church Centre, Wetherby
Talented florist and owner of local business Nicolla Florist, Clair demonstrates how to make a beautiful autumnal wreath for your door and a stunning arrangement for your sitting room. Both items will be raffled at the end of the event.
Refreshments available.
An Evening With Fools Gold
7.30pm, Methodist Church, Wetherby
Come along for a great evening listening to music with a difference, themed with visuals. Fools Gold have racked up over 2,500 shows around the world playing music that uses Guitar, Bouzouki, Ukulele, Bass Guitar, Tenor Guitar, Flute, Whistles and Keyboards, to name but a few! Carol and Steve promise a programme that includes a mixture of well-known and original music, with stories that are fascinating, moving or funny, but always engaging. Interactivity encouraged but not obligatory.
Refreshments available.
Thursday 6th October
Wetherby Past, Present and Future
2.00pm, St. James Church Centre, Wetherby
Victor Hawkins of Wetherby Civic Society, Connor Mulhall, Chairman of Wetherby Town Council’s Climate Emergency Group, and Roger Owen, Chair of Better Wetherby, will give you a whirlwind tour of how Wetherby has developed over the years and how it may look in the future; this is your chance to ask the experts about the history and future of Wetherby.
Refreshments available.
The Swing Commanders
7.30pm, Engine Shed, Wetherby
The Swing Commanders are a stunningly vibrant and versatile group that perform an exciting mix of 1940’s classics, boogie-woogie, western swing, 50’s jump jazz and more. Come along for a good old-fashioned, and new fashioned, swing evening. Dancing allowed!
Bar available.
Friday 7th October
Literary lunch
12.00 noon, Ribston Room, Bridge Hotel, Walshford
Rob Cowen and Deborah Moggach OBE join us to share their writing experiences. Rob, who lives in Harrogate, is an award-winning writer, poet and author, mostly noted for his book Common Ground, based on his local observations around Bilton Lane. His latest book, The Heeding, has been longlisted for the Wainwright Prize.
Deborah has written 19 novels but is probably best known for ‘These Foolish Things’ which became the bestselling film THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL and its sequel.
Join us for lunch (the menu is available for you to choose each course when you book tickets) and an insight into the secrets of successful writing. Books by both authors will be available to buy at the bookstall run by Wetherby’s local independent bookshop, Reading Roots, and both authors will be signing them after lunch.
We are grateful to our sponsor for supporting the Literary Lunch
Bad Apple Theatre Presents ‘Yorkshire Kernel’
7.30pm, St. James Church Room (Scout Hut), Wetherby
Meet James. James’ Grandad is at death’s door, but he has one last mission: find a tree. Many trees in fact, scattered around the country in memory of his WW2 comrades. Sounds simple, right? A poignant and hilarious new one-man show, come and join us for the world premiere of this brand-new comedy! There’s also a surprise in store for the audience.
Wetherby Lions will provide bar facilities.
Feast of Folk
7.30pm, Friday 7th October. Wetherby Rugby Club, Grange Park, Wetherby
We are excited to celebrate our first evening of folk.
It will truly be a Feast of Folk with four top recording artists performing in their own contrasting styles.
Katie Spencer – her brilliant progressive singing and guitar wizardry draws you into her world. See “The Same Water”, a short film capturing her work through live performance and interview.
‘Like a musical weaver she threads her poetic lyrics through the guitar’s strings’ – Ralph McTell.
Chris Manners, with his enthusiastic humorous observations on life with a little tongue in cheek.
‘Serious’ Sam Barrett (also see YouTube)..
‘The sustained brilliance of this playing is really something to behold.’ - Bob Harris, BBC Radio 2
Plus the Folk ‘Legend’ that is Roger Knowles.
Bar Available
Saturday 8th October
Leeds Symphony Orchestra
7.30pm, St James Church, Wetherby
An evening of classical music at St James Church, a staple of festivals in the past; sure fire enjoyment from the Leeds Symphony Orchestra founded in 1890 and still entertaining audiences all over Yorkshire. The programme includes:
Bax – Tintagel
Wagner – Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde
Beethoven – Symphony no. 6 “Pastoral Symphony”
Wetherby Lions will provide bar facilities.
Sunday 9th October
Really Funny Comedy Presents...
7.30pm, Wetherby Rugby Club, Grange Park, Wetherby
Let’s close the Festival in style together with an evening of belly-aching laugher. You will be treated to four top stand-up acts from television and radio at the Wetherby Rugby Club…
Fin Taylor ( (Apollo, 8 Out of 10 Cats, Mash Report, etc),
Scott Bennett (Apollo, R4, etc),
Lou Conran (TV and radio)
and hosted by Micky P Kerr (see YouTube BGT finalist).
Bar available
