As we head into Spring and the days get lighter, there’s much more for people to do this month in Otley. Read on for some of the excellent events coming to Otley this March.

Otley gets its own ghost tour!

Did you know Otley now has its own ghost tour? Prepare to be spooked with the team from Turnip Fish Theatre on a haunting walk around the town’s scariest sights! With two performances every Saturday night, the tours finish with a drink in the town’s most haunted pub, The Black Horse.

Sundance hit hits town

Thursday March 7th sees Otley Film Society back at the Courthouse for a screening of Hive, a film from Kosovo that rocked the Sundance Film Festival when released in 2021. Fahrije’s husband has been missing since the war began in Kosovo. She sets up her own small business to provide for her kids, but as she fights against a patriarchal society that does not support her, she faces a crucial decision.

Comedy returns to The Rookery

Friday March 8th sees the return of Shoe Cake Comedy to The Rookery on Kirkgate for a night of stand up and improvised comedy.  The night will feature 4-6 stand-up comedians (a mix of new acts and experienced acts trying new material) – plus improvised sketches from the multi award winning The Halls of Ridiculous.

Choral Society head makes debut

Otley Choral Society has a new musical director Alex Kyle who will be making his debut on Saturday March 9th when they perform performing The St John Passion by J.S. Bach at Otley Parish Church. This will be their first performance of the year and with rehearsals beginning straight after Christmas, it promises to be a good one.

Spanish guitar king at the Courthouse

Hailed as the “”The Galician King of Acoustic Guitar”” Iago Banet will be appearing at Otley Courthouse on Saturday March 9th. Mixing gypsy jazz, blues rock, country, dixieland, swing, pop and folk, Iago is a one-man acoustic guitar band not to be missed.

Otley RUFC play on

Over in the sporting arena, Otley RUFC Men’s first XV continue to try and climb the league ladder in National 2 North with two home games. First up is Preston Grasshoppers on Saturday March 2nd, followed by a match against Fylde two week’s later (March 16th). Held at Cross Green, both games kick off at 14.15. (Pic by CHRIS HYSLOP).

Eclectic disco night at the Social Club

In Otley for the first time on Saturday March 16th, Front Room Disco will be bringing their eclectic mix of danceable tunes to Otley Social Club. Expect everything from Elvis to Underworld, Pixies to Staple Singers (pictured), and Bananarama to Aswad. The event kicks off at 8pm. Take your dancing shoes!

Fab folk at UpCo

Passionate North Yorkshire singer and storyteller Johnny Campbell will be bringing his traditional northern folk songs to UpCo Arts on Saturday March 23rd. This year sees Campbell releasing True North, an album of traditional northern folk songs including collaborations with Liverpool virtuoso fiddle player, Mikey Kenney, and Northumbrian duo, The Brothers Gillespie.

This month’s Farmer’s Market

The last Sunday of the Month is March 31st, which means it’s time for both the Farmer’s Market in Market Place and the Crafts Fair at the Courthouse. The former starts at 9am with the crafts fair kicking off an hour later. Both finish by 1pm.

For details of these and other Otley events this month, see here