SIR Jimmy Savile is to visit Grassington Festival to present local group Magna Carta with six gold discs.

The discs represent seven million album sales worldwide for the group, which stars Grassington couple Chris and Linda Simpson.

They will be handed over by Sir Jimmy during the band's gig at the festival on Sunday June 14.

"I have done a lot of work with Jim in the past, so I wrote and said if you would do this it would be great," explained Chris. "I am looking forward to the festival very much."

Formed by Chris some 27 years ago, Magna Carta is described as one of the greatest acts to ever come out of the Yorkshire Dales, featuring acoutsic guitar at its best.

The band has just returned from a tour of East Jerusalem, Italy and Holland, and after performing at Grassington will jet off to perform gigs in Portugal, Abu Dhabi, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Venezuela to name just a few.

Grassington Festival, meanwhile, gets under way on Friday June 12.

The Ken Dodd Happiness Show, Last Night of the Proms and Matters Matrimonial have already sold out, along with one of this year's more unusual events, dry stone walling for beginners.

There are just a few tickets left for the talk by Leeds-born Lady Valerie Solti, wife of the late conductor Sir Georg Solti on Monday June 22, The Pete Allen Jazz Band on Friday June 19 and the famous Rhos Male Voice Choir on Saturday June 13.

The latter performers have won the National Eisteddfod of Wales seven times and are in demand both in Britain and abroad. The choir has made many appearances on TV, and on March 1 was seen worldwide on a St David's Day Songs of Praise programme when they sang with Sir Harry Secombe.

Presenting music of a different kind is the Mayfield Chamber Opera Company, which will perform Ordo Virtutum (The Rite of the Virtues) on Sunday June 21. Featuring Gregorian chants, this is the oldest surviving music-drama and is the greatest musical work by the visionary mystic Hildegarde of Bingen.

Other musical acts include The South American Journey on Tuesday June 16, in which three artists of international standing perform a musical portrait of South America, the award-winning Nash Ensemble on Thursday June 18, international pianist Cllia Iruzun on Saturday June 20, the JJB Sports Leyland Band on Sunday June 21 and new music specialists Psappha, on Friday June 26.

Audiences can also chose from a range of non-musical performances, starting with Here's Looking at You on Saturday June 13, which offers a rare glimpse into the past with archive footage showing life in North Yorkshire over the past 100 years.

Sunday June 14 sees a performance by the Hand and Word Storytellers, featuring storyteller David Brown and harpist Julie Darling, while on Monday June 15 audiences can spend An Evening with Fred Trueman.

This year's Gilbert and Sullivan performance, on Saturday June 20, is HMS Pinafore, but with a difference. The audience will actually star in the production, learning their musical lines in the first half, and joining a cast of professional soloists in the second half.

Other events include a Maria Callas study day on Monday June 22, a performance by renowned poet Benjamin Zephaniah on Wednesday June 24, and a fresh adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream on Thursday June 25.

For tickets, contact 01756 753093.

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