A LANTERN parade and fire finale through a Bradford district park will end an action-packed event to mark World Heritage Day in a district village.
World Heritage Day 2023 will feature more than 11 hours of entertainment in Roberts Park, Saltaire, on Saturday, April 22, from 10am to 9pm.
The event will include the park’s promenade area taken over by stalls selling craft goods and vintage clothing among others.
Donkey rides and traditional fairground attractions will also be available to visitors on the day.
Music and live performances will also be held at the bandstand at the park every hour from 10am to 8pm. This will include a performance by Shipley College at noon.
Salt & Pepper street theatre will make three appearances in the park between 11am and 4pm. Meanwhile, a street bubble entertainer will also wow the crowds inside Roberts Park with three shows between 1pm and 4pm.
Visitors will also be able to delve into the village’s past using modern technology on the day.
Visualising Heritage: A Saltaire Trail’ will give people the chance to use their mobile phones to hunt QR codes dotted around the village, each of a former building which will include the Saltaire Bath House. This 3D imagery project has been developed by The University of Bradford.
The lantern parade, provided by Cecil Green Arts, will be held throughout Roberts Park between 8pm and 9pm. The parade will be accompanied by music and followed by a fire finale, held from 9pm to 9.30pm.
Ian Andrews-Swailes, Saltaire’s World Heritage Day organiser who is also Saltaire Festival chairman, says the World Heritage Day event will help start the festival season for 2023 in the village and the wider Bradford district.
He said: “It is the first festival of the year. It’s a kick-off really.
“The way we celebrate World Heritage Day in Saltaire is slightly different.
“Anything we do now is heritage too. It’s about making heritage exciting.
“People will be able to come and see Saltaire and have some fun.
“Half of the promenade will have craft stalls and the other half will have stalls selling vintage clothing, like flat caps, or anything with a vintage feel to it.”
Mr Swailes-Andrews says the World Heritage Day event will also help shine a spotlight on the district ahead of Bradford being the UK’s City of Culture in 2025.
The popular lantern parade returned to Roberts Park for the first time in three years in 2022 due to the pandemic.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here