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07
Jul 2024
How Harrogate's arts and culture scene has changed over the years
Amy Winehouse, Paloma Faith, Alan Bennett and Stephen Fry – no, this isn’t someone’s dream dinner party line-up, but rather just an overview of some of the major stars that Harrogate International Festivals (HIF) has hosted over the years.
Since 1966, the charity has played its part in shaping the arts and entertainment scene across the region, albeit on a much smaller scale at first.
From a single festival in its launch year to an annual roster of events, HIF has evolved with the cultural landscape for the nearly six decades it has been in operation.
Both visitors and residents to Harrogate may have fond memories of attending the events over the years – and perhaps even been lucky enough to witness an iconic artist or future star perform.
Back to the beginning
Before HIF was established, there wasn’t an overarching organisation in Harrogate responsible for the staging of arts and culture events in the town.
The relationship between spa towns and an entertainment scene have been intertwined for as far back in history as the Victorian era.
Visitors would come to take in the reported benefits of the spa water, and hoteliers, sensing an opportunity for repeat custom or extended stays, would provide evening entertainment.
While Harrogate enjoyed this legacy, unlike other spa towns such as Cheltenham or Bath, the tradition had not formally continued.
Sharon Canavar, chief executive at HIF, explained:
In 1960 there was a letter submitted to the Harrogate Advertiser which was discussing the fact that Harrogate venues suffered from a lack of good pianos, and that nobody would come to play a duff piano despite the fact the Lounge Hall [now Wetherspoons] was a beautiful place to come and hear music.
Clive Wilson, the founder of HIF, had his own letter published in which he lamented that Harrogate was in danger of becoming a ‘drought created desert’ for culture.
His opinion was that the council shouldn’t be responsible for providing this, and that instead it would be up to the public to organise.
An initial meeting to discuss the matter was so well intended that by the following year, they’d created a concert society, which then became HIF in 1966.
(L) Festival Club (R) a Cabaret evening at the Old Swan Hotel
A culture hub for the North
Although the catalyst for HIF’s inception was music, the festivals always encompassed a wide range of subject matters.
In the first year alone, it had held an Arts & Sciences Fair, a literary luncheon with the Yorkshire Evening Post and a lecture delivered by Sir Bernard Lovell on ‘The New World of the Ultra Large’.
Sharon said:
This was a time when going to university wasn’t as common, but that didn’t mean that many people didn’t want to read, and learn, especially about the world around them.
The festivals allowed them to do that, through the events and through the incredible speakers and artists. Visitors would come from beyond Harrogate, because at the time we were one of the only place in the north of England they could go to for the kind of events we offered.
People would come from the Proms, stop off in Harrogate and then go up to Edinburgh for the Fringe.
This so-called cultural pilgrimage applied to the artists too; Laffs at the Baths was a comedy night held at the Royal Baths, and featured comedians who would road-test their material before appearing at the Fringe.
This is an important aspect that Sharon feels that HIF has managed to retain from the early years, providing a cultural destination from both the seat and the stage.
Take the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. People come from all over the world and stay in Harrogate for three nights, attend the whole festival and really experience the whole town, which is exciting.
That’s our modern example and our contribution today to the cultural pilgrimage.
Notable stars past and present
The list of festival alumni reads like a Who’s Who of famous faces from the world of literature, academia and the arts.
From iconic blues musician and producer BB King to comedian Victoria Wood, playwright Alan Bennett to soprano Montserrat Caballé and author Richard Osman – and that’s just to name a few.
In 2004, a then up-and-coming Amy Winehouse was booked to perform at the Harrogate Music Festival. She’d just released her first album Frank and was two years away from achieving huge commercial success with Back to Black.
Sharon explained:
Amy Winehouse (2004)
We were still primarily a classical festival and that time, but we were trying to branch out into world music, more contemporary artists that could appeal to a younger audience.
She played at the Convention Centre, and she was a really young artist at the time. That was incredible, and we didn’t realise how iconic that would become.
Similar with Paloma Faith. She’d parted ways with her record label, and she was doing a bit of a warm-up for Latitude Festival, and we were lucky enough to get her – she was phenomenal.
The present day
Today, HIF hosts 100 events every year, selling over 26,000 tickets annually.
Starting with a team of around three or four in the '60s, it now employs eight staff on a full-time basis, working alongside other local organisations and volunteers to stage each event.
The late Malcom Neesam detailed the history of the charity in full in his book Music Over The Waters, published in 2017.
Sharon added:
Funding has changed so much. Unlike when Harrogate International Festivals first began, we can’t rely on a summer season to see us through the rest of the year.
But it’s not just about finances either. We should be serving the community and making a difference through our events, and that’s what we aim to do – to offer enhancement to the town through culture.
You create that liminal experience of being together and being part of something really special, and that’s what it’s all about.
Do you have any memories of Harrogate's festivals over the years?
Start the conversation below using the new comment function, or share your own pictures and experiences to letters@thestrayferret.co.uk.
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