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Harrogate International Festivals founded in 1966 has grown to become a major cultural not for profit organisation delivering festivals, events and education projects of national and international impact in North Yorkshire.
Over 90,000 people attended events promoted by HIF in 2006 generating an estimated £4.1 million worth of income into Harrogate for hotels, restaurants, the Conference Centre and many other local businesses.
This annual multi-arts Harrogate International Festival, held in July and August, has been acclaimed by The Times as "the North of England's leading arts festival". William Culver-Dodds became only the second Festival Director in 1991 and since then, the Festival programming has continued to expand and diversify, now encompassing several major strands. The orchestral and classicalprogramme continues to attract leading international performers and orchestras, as well as presenting new discoveries in our Young Musicians series. The Festival also organises a nationally acclaimed season of chamber concerts, the Harrogate International Sunday Series, at the Cairn Hotel every spring.
The Jazz & World Music programme has a growing international stature, and, among other famous names, Harrogate has welcomed B.B. King, Van Morrison, Amy Winehouse, Dionne Warwick, Mariza, Youssou N'Dour, Afro Cuban All Stars and Wynton Marsalis.
The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival launched in 2003 is already Europe's leading crime festival attracting a dazzling array of international best-selling authors in conversation, publishing seminars and panel sessions. It has a growing appeal for crime aficionados, writers, the publishing industry and readers alike.
Green Space Festival, launched in 2006 achieved notable success in the Yorkshire & Humber Market Town Awards winning best "Environment and Culture" project and the top award for the ?Most Outstanding Market Town Project". Inspired by its leafy public spaces, regal ruins and riverside panoramas, the popular market town boasts ideal locations for site-specific work, visual installations and intimate small-scale performances.
'Tune-in' - North Yorkshire's Youth Music Action Zone was established in 2005 and is built around a consortium of partners across the region, led by HIF. The work of 'tune-in' ensures quality music making of all styles and cultures, that stimulate young people and ensure that opportunities are available in all localities of rural North Yorkshire. Over 2,000 young people under the age of 18 have taken part in excess of 100 workshops within the last 6 months distributed across 329 primary schools and 47 secondary schools in North Yorkshire.
Partnerships in development and business sponsorship have won the Festival national and regional awards and we were shortlisted for the Royal Bank of Scotland Arts & Business Community Award and won the Arts & Business: Yorkshire Brand sponsorship of the year for Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.
The Festival receives limited funding from Arts Council England, Yorkshire and Harrogate Borough Council amount to 7% of turnover in 2005.
The Festival is a member of British Arts Festivals Association; The International Festivals and Events Association Europe and the Independent Street Arts Network. The Company is limited by guarantee and is a registered charity 244861.
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