GRASSINGTON'S 22nd Dickensian Festival gets under way tomorrow (Saturday) for the first of three weekends of wall-to-wall entertainment in Grassington.

Come rain, hail or shine - hopefully the latter - hundreds of coaches from all over the country as well as thousands of cars will wend their way to the village to sample a taste of yesteryear on the first three Saturdays of this month - December 6, 13 and 20.

With the Main Street closed to traffic, the village will be filled with stalls offering gifts and goodies and stallholders dressed in period costumes.

Street entertainers will be on hand to delight young and old and there will be bands playing from all over Craven to make the feet tap. For younger visitors, Father Christmas will set up his grotto near the town hall.

Add to that the hand-eye co-ordination of the Grassington Handbell Ringers, the choreography of the nativity scene and the groups of gifted singers and actors and the resultant event should be another resounding success.

Co-ordinator Rosemary Biggin writes in the festival leaflet: "Discover the nooks and crannies and find presents from the past in our traditional shops. The square is full of stalls from local charities and organisations all selling goods to raise money for their cause."

At the 2002 festival, local organisations raised more than £46,500, which all went towards helping the Dales maintain its traditional way of life.

The Cave Rescue Organisation is a regular attendee of the festival raising money to keep its volunteers kitted out in lifesaving equipment.

Also returning will be Grassington firefighters, who will be collecting money for their benevolent fund as well as their own depot. They will use their fire engine as their stall and willl park it opposite the entrance to Colvend car park.

Mrs Biggins adds: "Then as the daylight fades, follow our touchlight nativity procession - Mary and Joseph are refused room at the inns so make their way to the 'stable' in the square for community carols.

"Yes, Grassington is the place for Christmas magic."

To coincide with the festival, Grassington Players will present "A Tale of Two Sisters" - a light-hearted Dickensian production in the town hall at 8pm tomorrow. The show will be repeated next Saturday.

In addition, local artist Ray Snape will hold a one-man exhibition of his paintings in the Ladies' Room at Grassington Town Hall during the three Dickensian weekends.

He is well-known for his animal scenes, but his work also includes local landscapes and paintings in acrylics.