Wildlife Friendly Otley is organising the town’s, and the UK’s, first ever Wildlife Arts Festival to be held on Saturday October 2 at Otley Courthouse.

The festival will celebrate Otley’s wonderful wildlife with inspiring displays by local artists, photographers, sculptors and craft makers, plus Otley writers and poets will give readings of work featuring wildlife and nature. It will be a full daytime and evening event culminating in an audio visual presentation and talk by one of the UK’s top wildlife cameramen and film makers, Ian McCarthy (pictured).

Launching news of the festival, Neil Griffin, education officer for Wildlife Friendly Otley which is organising the event, said: “There are many talented people in Otley who are joining us to celebrate the beauty and wonder of wildlife in a wide a variety of creative media including the visual and craft arts, the written and spoken word, poetry, photography and film.

“We hope the Wildlife Arts Festival will be a successful addition to the diverse range of festivals that Otley is famous for,” added Neil. “ As far as we know, it’s the first festival of its kind in the country. If it’s successful, our vision is to expand the festival and in future live music and more involvement from Otley children.”

Admission to the festival at Otley Courthouse will be free for the daytime exhibition, displays and the performances by writers and poets. Tickets for the evening headline event featuring Ian McCarthy will be priced at £10 and available through the Courthouse. Ian is an internationally renowned and award winning wildlife film maker and photographer and has worked all over the world on wildlife programmes such as Blue Planet, Life in the Freezer, Planet Earth and BBC Autumn Watch. “Wildlife Friendly Otley is grateful to Ian for finding time for our festival in his busy schedule,” said Neil Griffin. 

The festival is being supported by and will feature work by many of Otley’s creative groups and societies including  Otley Camera Club, the Chevin Watercolour Group, Otley Writers, Otley Poetry Stanza and Otley Sewing Collective.

Individual artists will be involved too, including Kate Broughton, Carole Gaunt, Kim Coley, River Six, Amy Wilson (embroidery), Janis Goodman (etchings), Frances Taylor (mosaics), Amelia Thackeray (embroidery), James Hamilton (soundscapes), Shane Green (wood sculptor), and Huw Williams (photography).

Gemma Bassett, Marketing Manager of local business and event sponsors, Sinclairs said:  “We’re proud to be supporting the first Wildlife Arts Festival; we’re passionate about helping our environment; not only through using responsibly sourced materials and processes in our manufacturing but also by supporting our local community with events to raise awareness”.

Tickets for the evening presentation are available only through Otley Courthouse. Further information at www.otleycourthouse.org.uk Tel: 01943 467466. Information about the festival can be found at wildifefriendlyotley.org.uk/festival