IT was glorious weather and hundreds came out to join in the festivities.
The fourth Shepley Spring Festival saw people relaxing with picnics in the sun and listening to live music over the three-day event.
James McKinlay, festival director, told the Examiner: “The weather has been glorious.
“We’ve got the whole of Shepley, Shelley and Skelmanthorpe down here.
“Everyone was picnicking and eating ice-creams in the sun.
“All the concerts are heaving with people and the campsite is full.”
The teacher at Nortonthorpe Hall Special School said the weather hadn’t made a difference to the number of people attending the festival this year.
He said: “The weather doesn’t make a difference really.
“We’ve been going for four years now and we’ve got a regular clientele.
“They trust that we’ll book some great acts from all over the world and they will have a good time.”
World famous folk star Seth Lakeman headlined the three-day festival and drew large crowds.
While Grammy award-winning American Tim O’Brien and BBC Horizon award winner Kris Drever also proved popular with the crowds.
Other acts included Roy Bailey, Skerryvore, Bedlam, The Young ‘Uns, Saltfishforty, Jackie Oates, 3 Daft Monkeys and Jack Rutter.
James said he had been worried the foreign acts might not be able to make it to Yorkshire because of the problems with the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud.
He said: “We have acts coming from all over the world so it was a bit of a worry.”
He added: “The festival has been going for four years now and we get a lot of support from Shepley Cricket Club and the local farmers let us use their fields.
“Ever since the Shepley bed push ended we needed something to bring the village back together.”
The family event staged a showground for children where they could take part in music workshops, scale a climbing wall or watch some wacky science experiments.
Adults took part in masterclasses in the fiddle, guitar, melodeon and the longsword.
