A month on from this year’s Anne Lister Birthday Festival, Calderdale Council is reflecting on the festival’s success and its part in the borough’s Year of Culture.
The Anne Lister Birthday Festival took place from 29 March to the 6 April, celebrating what would have been the 234th birthday of Halifax’s famous landowner, entrepreneur, mountaineer, scholar, traveller, and lesbian.
People from across the world took part in the special programme of events in Calderdale to celebrate Anne Lister’s life and legacy. Over the nine days of the festival, Calderdale welcomed over 650 visitors from at least 30 different countries, including as far away as the United States of America, Canada, South Africa, Russia, Australia and New Zealand.
As part of the Culturedale programme, visitors to the borough were able to enjoy a programme of over 70 events, with opportunities to walk in Anne’s footsteps, exploring some of Halifax’s finest heritage buildings. This included at her family home of Shibden Hall, which hosted sell-out private tours featuring areas usually not accessible to the public.
Other highlights included:
- A community film afternoon at Hebden Bridge Picture House. This featured three short films; Old Lesbians; Not Quite That; and the Yorkshire premiere of a new film, Lesvia. The event featured post-film discussions with the director of Lesvia and the subject of the Not Quite That documentary, who had travelled from Greece and Canada respectively.
- Sell-out talks, including with Jill Liddington, Calderdale’s own renowned, award-winning feminist historian and author. Jill discussed her latest Anne Lister book ‘As Good As A Marriage’, the sequel to ‘Female Fortune’, the book which Sally Wainwright notes as the inspiration for the series, Gentleman Jack.
- An Anne Lister-inspired costume parade, with over 70 people joining the parade through Halifax in their best Regency style, Anne Lister or Gentleman Jack inspired costumes.
- A special Candlelit Concert at Halifax Minster. The emotional event featured the renowned Yorkshire harpist, Fiona Katie Widdop and ‘The Square Pianist’ Lisa Timbs with her 1812 Clementi square piano, and local trio The Greyhounds.
- Heritage walks across the borough, telling Anne’s story. These included a number of popular walks with Rachel Whitbread, an Anne Lister expert in her own right, and daughter of Helena Whitbread, transcriber of the secret diaries of Anne Lister.
As always, the festival featured a special flower laying ceremony at the Piece Hall on 3 April, what would have been Anne’s birthday. This year’s event also included a performance from the Halifax Choral Society and the Anne Lister Dancers who led Regency period dancing. In addition, female students from local Ryburn Valley School attended for the first play of a new single they’ve written and recorded with their teacher, professional musician Terry Logan, inspired by Anne’s story.
Many of the events were complete sell-outs, with some visitors already booking their accommodation ready for next year’s festival.
Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Services, Cllr Danielle Durrans, said:
“As the dust settles on another successful Anne Lister Birthday Festival, we can once again recognise how special the event is, as we see visitors from across the world come to Calderdale to celebrate the life and legacy of this remarkable woman.
“With over 70 events, the festival grows year on year, as we continue to see an outpouring of affection for Anne, the people she loved, and the places she lived and visited. I’d like to thank everyone who helped make the festival such a success and a real highlight in our cultural calendar.
“This year’s festival formed part of our Year of Culture, with events showcasing our heritage, our many cultural venues and our warm and welcoming reputation. It’s great to see events like the Anne Lister Birthday Festival supporting a lasting cultural legacy and highlighting the growing appeal of our visitor offer.”
Visit www.annelisterofhalifax.co.uk(external link), the home of all things Anne Lister and www.visitcalderdale.com(external link) for all the latest information about attractions and events happening around the borough, as well as details of where to stay and what to do in Calderdale
Calderdale’s Year of Culture is coming to a close after delivering a spectacular and diverse programme of events and activities, catering to all ages and interests. The Culturedale legacy continues, with upcoming events and activities promoted at www.culturedale.co.uk(external link)
ENDS