This year will be the 9th Saltaire festival and also the 10th year of Saltaire’s UNESCO World Heritage Status and we’re going to make sure it’s a brilliant one!

Welcome to Saltaire Festival 2011. It’s our ninth annual Festival and once again it’s an excellent opportunity to spend time in our wonderful heritage village, whether you’re local or from further afield. You’ll see the village at its most vibrant and we’ve laid on a wide range of events with something for everyone. We’ve also extended our range of venues this year giving you the chance to visit some new places and spaces. As usual, we’ve balanced free and ticketed events so don’t hesitate to spend time at the Festival even if money is tight. If you are travelling, we’d love you to come by public transport as we’re very conscious of our carbon footprint. The train station is in the heart of the village and lots of buses pass though. Also with a green flavour, please take rubbish home to recycle if you possibly can.

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be updating details about performers and events as well as notifying you of last minute surprises and late changes to the programme. You can also find out how to get involved with the Festival and keep your friends in the loop through Facebook and Twitter.

The Festival is only possible because of the dedication and hard work of our Directors, Festival Liaison Group, Festival Producer and versatile volunteers. We also rely completely on our patrons, sponsors and advertisers to generate income for the Festival so we thank them warmly for their support. We also welcome donations to contribute to our costs.Looking ahead to 2012, there are the Olympics and then there’s Saltaire Festival. We’re already planning to celebrate our tenth birthday in style.