Victorian glamour and avant-garde art are just some of the things on tap at this year's Festival - as are a good range of fine ales which can be sampled at the Saltaire Beer Festival which takes place at the same time.

The Festival kicks off with a posh ball in Victoria Hall, the like of which has not been seen since the Hall's Grand Opening in 1872.

Matthew Houlding's Pioneer is one of the works on show at the Coordinates exhibition.

Although Salt's Mill is well known for its collection of works by world-famous Bradford artist David Hockney, this year's Festival will see the Mill's very first sculpture exhibition.

Making use of the building's 630 foot long roof space the exhibition Coordinates takes the theme of a journey through space as seen through the eyes of 13 artists now working in Yorkshire, taking in everything from a cityscape to Birds of Paradise.

A new musical, Saltairy Tales, by villager Eddie Lawler, tells Saltaire's story in music, drama and dance while the Classical Concert provided by an ensemble from Opera North includes works by Bach, Albinoni and Vivaldi. And there will be more music during the Finale Weekend when rock, blues and folk bands will be playing on the Piazza Stage at the Continental Street Market.

Sir Titus Salt looks out on his village and the Festival.

More art is on show at the Arts in Action exhibition in Victoria Hall and the whole thing comes to an end with Gala In The Park which, amongst other things, offers circus skills workshops.

The Festival, which first took place in 2003 to mark the 200th anniversary of Sir Titus Salt's birth and the 150th anniversary of the construction of the village, has now established itself as an annual get-together. Saltaire Festival Chair, Keith Brewster, says: "The last two years have shown that this is a great event for both locals and visitors to the region. With such a range of events, there really is something for absolutely everybody. We are thrilled by this year's Festival programme and look forward to welcoming everyone here to enjoy it."

We can only wonder what Sir Titus would have made of it all...

The Saltaire Festival runs from September 8th - 18th 2005. More details can be found on the Festival website.
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