THE shopping centre in Keighley is set to celebrate its 50th year, with the whole town invited to join in.

To honour this anniversary of the Airedale Shopping Centre, a birthday party will be hosted at the centre on Saturday, May 19 and Sunday, May 20 from 11am until 3pm.

Steve Seymour, Airedale Shopping Centre manager, said: “The whole team is really looking forward to this momentous occasion.

“The centre will be full of festivities and it’s a wonderful opportunity to bring the local community together to help celebrate the centre’s 50 fantastic years in Keighley.

“Not only are we wanting to look forward to the next 50 years, it’s also incredibly important to remember the last five decades and revisit Airedale’s history.

“We’re inviting members of the general public to donate items, whether it’s old photos of the centre or perhaps a memento that could be showcased to commemorate this milestone.

“It will be wonderful to take a step back in time, so everyone can appreciate the centre’s journey. Perhaps someone even has a very old memento bought at the centre that has been kept over the years?

“It’s definitely going to be interesting to see how much the centre has changed over the last five decades.”

Visitors will have the chance to take part in pass the parcel games with some top prizes up for grabs. There will also be a roaming magician and balloon modeller on hand to enthral visitors as they walk around the centre.

A thousand cupcakes will be handed out each day by two people dressed as slices of cake, while a huge ‘spin the birthday cake’ party game will be located opposite Poundbakery.

As part of the celebrations, the centre will be screening the Royal wedding on Saturday May 19 at noon and for football fans there will be the FA Cup Final later in the day.

Paul Howard, Keighley Business Improvement District (BID) manager, said: “Throughout the life of the BID, the Airedale Shopping Centre has been a key supporter of our projects.

“It has provided an excellent all-weather events space for a number of our activities including the popular ‘Indoor Beach – Keighley by the Sea’.

“We’re delighted to play a small part in the story of this key community facility, which has been a social meeting point for generations of shoppers.”

To submit an item to the memorabilia exhibition, contact Liam Parker at liam@mooandgoo.com.