To celebrate Harrogate International Festivals’ 50th Anniversary, we will be presenting a year ďŹ lled with more events than ever before, based on our theme of Discover, Explore, Experiment.
THURSDAY 7 JULY 3.30pm Dickie Arbiter - On Duty with The Queen: My Time as a Buckingham Palace Press Secretary Tickets ÂŁ12 Dickie shares the incredible stories from his memoir. Prepare to be royally entertained by his warm memories of the Queen, and be moved as he touches on one of the deďŹ ning moments in our nation’s history: the death of Princess Diana. A remarkable glimpse into what life is really like behind the scenes at Buckingham Palace.
5pm Mary Portas – Shop Girl Tickets £12 From aspirational working class beginnings to Sunday Times Bestseller, Shop Girl’s narrative travels through a childhood in Sixties Watford where money was scarce, encompassing family, love, loss and shop jobs. Be inspired by the Queen of Retail’s charm, depth and humour, as she talks of her journey from hand-me-downs to the riches of Harrods, discovering her craft – the art of selling dreams. Literary journalist Danuta Kean interviews.
6.30pm John Rowlinson - The Boys of 66: The Unseen Story Behind England’s World Cup Glory Tickets ÂŁ9 Football, like religion, inspires devotion. Wembley, 30 July 1966, is a date to worship as Geoff Hurst completes his hat trick. “They think it’s all over‌.it is nowâ€?. England are the World Cup champions. Marking the 50th anniversary of England’s historic 4-2 victory against West Germany, former BBC TV Sports producer John Rowlinson takes you on the triumphant journey of sporting glory.
8pm Charles MacLean – Whiskypedia Tickets £12 Scotch whisky is the Holy Grail, steeped in history, craft and tradition. Charles MacLean, Keeper of the Quaich, has the spirit with 30 years researching its curiosities and character, resulting in Whiskypedia. Experience a wee dram as never before in our tasting event, with one of the world’s leading experts.
Booking Fees Apply
FRIDAY 8 JULY 10.30am Mark Thompson - A Space Traveller’s Guide to the Solar System Tickets £9 Prepare to be blasted out of this world with the co-presenter of BBC Stargazing Live and Royal Astronomical Society fellow. Let stardust enter your soul as Mark takes you on a tour of the Solar System. What would you feel? Would you cope? How would you go to the loo? Find out here!
12pm Einstein’s Universe Tickets: ÂŁ12 Einstein, the world’s foremost physicist who developed general relativity - the most beautiful theory ever formulated - turned to another virtuoso for solace and inspiration: Mozart. A violin player and devotee, Einstein saw his life ‘in terms of music.’ Professor Brian Foster will be joined by violinist Jack Liebeck to present a musical lecture, exploring how Einstein’s ideas have shaped our concepts of space, time and the evolution of the Universe.
2pm Laura Dawes - Fighting Fit: The Wartime Battle for Britain’s Health Tickets ÂŁ9 It’s a battleďŹ eld when it comes to diets, disease and mental health. So how on earth did the nation’s health not only survive, but triumph in real war? Against all the odds of rationing and a bombedout-Britain, WW2 saw a war for well-being, fought by pioneers – nurses, Nobel Prize winners, housewives. Laura shares the extraordinary story of the men and women who kept Britain well in wartime and paved the way for the NHS.
3.30pm Mail Obsession: A Journey Round Britain by Postcode with Mark Mason Tickets ÂŁ9 Mark Mason is truly the god of small things. Mail Obsession is his quirky trail around Britain unearthing ‘the facts that slip down the back of life’s sofa’ from each postcode area in the UK. From how Jimi Hendrix got confused by the M1 to what the Queen keeps in her handbag, his adventures result in a charming homage to Britain’s past and curious present.
5pm Lucie Green - 15 Million Degrees, A Journey to the Centre of the Sun Tickets ÂŁ9 Light takes eight minutes to reach Earth but its journey within the Sun takes hundreds of thousands of years. What is going on in there?
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In this astonishing and enlightening adventure, you’ll travel millions of miles from inside the Sun to Earth, where the light at the end of its journey is now (right now!) allowing you to read this.
6.30pm - MindFOLDness workshop: Learning the art of Mindful Origami Tickets £9 Don’t miss the new trend for crafty calmness: MindFOLDness. Samuel Tsang, author of The Book of Mindful Origami, in this interactive workshop shows you how to fold your way to a quiet mind. Origami, has been dubbed Ori-calm-me, as it’s been shown to reduce stress, aid relaxation, concentration, hand-eye co-ordination and memory.
8pm Jack Liebeck St Wilfrid’s Church | Tickets £18 Unravel the complexities of the universe with this companion recital to our earlier lecture, Einstein’s Universe. Violinist Jack Liebeck and pianist Katya Apekisheva perform a programme of violin music that was loved by Einstein and truly inspired his work.
SATURDAY 9 JULY 10am On Shakespeare’s Sonnets in association with the Royal Literary Fund Tickets £9 Love is a theme that can encompass all others: death, sex, politics, time and space. Awardwinning poets Jo Shapcott and Ruth Padel along with Hannah Crawforth, editor of the volume, explore how our greatest poet still, on the 400th anniversary since his death, speaks closely to today’s foremost contemporary poets. Prepare to be moved in Shakespearean proportions.
11.30am Rock and Roll ConďŹ dential Tickets ÂŁ9 Four of our ďŹ nest music writers and broadcasters - Paul Du Noyer, David Hepworth, ZoĂŤ Howe and Mark Ellen - with outrageous tales of some of rock’s biggest egos. Combining expertise from the worlds of Smash Hits, Q, MOJO and The Word, they’ll discuss overrated superstars, nightmare interviews and life at the NME, as well as giving their views on the greatest records ever made.
All events take place at the Crown Hotel, Harrogate unless otherwise stated
Book Online | www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com
1.30pm Jon Savage – 1966: The Year the Decade Exploded Tickets £9 The Sixties – an era of ideas, freedom, and perception-enhancing substances, revolutionary literature, radical politics, fashion and pop. 1966 is a monument to the year everything changed, and the Harrogate Festival launched, as the decade exploded to the soundtrack of The Beatles, The Byrds and Velvet Underground. Music journalist Ben Thompson interviews.
3pm John Suchet – A Tale of Two Composers Tickets £18 One is the greatest composer who ever lived, the other the undisputed Waltz King. They could not be more different. Their music is a world apart. Their lives never touched. Yet there is one thing that they share. The city of Vienna. Suchet will bring Beethoven and Strauss II. alive — their life, their loves, and of course their music. He will take you to the city of Vienna, then as now the musical capital of Europe, and home to both men. Please note this event lasts 90 minutes.
5pm Roald Dahl – A Life in Letters with Donald Sturrock Tickets ÂŁ9 Sturrock - Dahl’s ofďŹ cial biographer - had exclusive access to the weekly letters Dahl wrote to his mother. From the excitement of ying as a WW2 ďŹ ghter pilot, and the thrill of meeting presidents and movie stars during his time as a spy in Washington, in the 100th anniversary of his birth, experience Dahl in a light never seen before: in his own words.
6.30pm Julia Bradbury’s Unforgettable Walks Tickets £12 Bradbury, much inspired by fell walker Alfred Wainwright, takes us on eight of the UK’s best-loved walks, showcasing the beauty of Britain. As she navigates the reader through the sights and sounds, the ora and fauna and the past and present of some fascinating and relaxing paths, Julia reveals there are still discoveries to be made, even on some of on the more well-trodden paths. Both a practical guide and a love letter to walking and walkers everywhere.
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