THE MONTH of festivities that is the Ilkley Summer Festival finally comes to a close in the next few days with a big send-off.

The sell-out open air Last Night of the Proms concert on The Grove will take centre stage as the last big event of the third annual festival this weekend. And the month-long festival will go out with a bang as a fireworks finale draws the concert to a close.

The Grove will be closed for the concert for the evening, and looks to be packed with visitors from Ilkley and beyond, after tickets sold out within two weeks of them going on sale.

The evening will be introduced by recently re-formed folk group Fox Corner. Originally formed in the 1970s as a light-hearted and humorous alternative to standard folk music. The group, featuring Ilkley parish councillor David Roberts, got back together after a birthday get-together last year.

They plan to start the concert at the weekend with a mix of well-known folk, country music and popular oldies.

The Last Night concert is organised by Ilkley Parish Council for the summer festival, and receives funding from the council.

Popular operatic arias and lighter songs will be performed by young South African soprano Amanda Echalaz - who recently represeted her country in the prestigious Cardiff Singer of the World 2005 competition - and young Yorkshire baritone Neil Baker, who will be travelling to Ilkley from Glyndebourne for the concert.

They will be accompanied by pianist Martyn Parkes, who will also play solo piano pieces at the concert.

The popular Marsden Silver Prize Band will return to Ilkley at the concert to play some of the Last Night of the Proms favourites. The evening will end with a firework finale laid on by the festival organisers.

Parish council chairman, Mike Gibbons, said he hopes everyone enjoys the concert and that residents will be understanding about the fireworks. He also warned concert-goers to be prepared in case the weather turns, bringing along raincoats.

In the closing days of the festival, there will still be a variety of events taking place.

This afternoon sees the last in the series of guided heritage walks organised by Ilkley Civic Society and Bradford Museums Service. The free walk will examine The Grove Convalescent Hospital and Spa Hydro, starting at the Manor House Museum, Castle Yard, at 2pm. The walk will be led by Alex Cockshott of the Civic Society.

Meanwhile, a 1940s Tea Dance will get into full swing at the King's Hall and Winter Garden at 2pm this afternoon. Dances regularly take place at the Winter Garden, but last year it was decided to bring in a live band and make a special event of the dance as part of the Ilkley Summer Festival.

The event is bigger this year, to mark the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. A live 1940s-style band will be performing, as well as singer Shirley Britton. Invites have gone out to many people who were in Ilkley during the War, and because more people are expected to attend the Tea Dance, the King's Hall has been commandeered for the actual dancing while Winter Garden will be the base for tea and chat.

Two wartime exhibitions are continuing to the end of the month. The Home Front Recall exhibition is running at Ilkley Library until the end of August, and there is a small display of Second World War material at the Manor House Museum. The Manor House has been hosting wartime drama reconstruction and reminiscences sessions each Tuesday and Saturday afternoon in August.

The Housebody section of the Manor House was a cyclists' caf run by the Robinson family during the 1930s. Visitors are invited to drop in for a cup of tea and a chat with Betty Robinson in her 'home' at the museum on Saturday afternoon between 1.30pm and 4pm.

The Manor House also continues to play host to the Get Wet, Get Well exhibition, which focuses on Ilkley's pre-war heyday as a spa town.