THE two-week Swaledale Festival packed with high quality music, drama, dance, arts and walking starts this weekend and runs until Saturday, June 10.

On Saturday, June 3, St Andrew’s Church in Grinton welcomes Zulu Tradition, an enthralling stage show from a company of young singers and dancers rekindling the spark of Zulu Culture. On Sunday, June 4, the same venue hosts the Amores Pasados, two outstanding vocalists and two top lute players performing a diverse and magical programme of songs from the 17th century to now, including several by rock stars John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin and Sting.

On Thursday, June 8, the Fidelio Trio comes to the Influence Church, in Richmond, to perform an evening of chamber music including the world premiere of a new commission by composer Alexander Goehr.

The Young Artists Platform brings fine young musicians at the beginning of their careers from all over the UK. This year the reigning BBC Young Musician of the Year and young man of the moment, Sheku Kanneh-Mason, performs with two of his equally talented siblings at St Andrew’s Church, in Aysgarth.

The 13-piece ensemble Arch Sinfonia, an orchestra renowned for its boundless energy, travels from London to perform Wagner and Bruckner at St Oswald’s Church, in Askrigg.

The Behn Quartet and Friends perform the world premiere of Home Field – Five Songs for the Dales by composer Adrian Rickard and Dales-based poet Ann Pilling.

The National Youth Jazz Orchestra – 20 of the finest young jazz musicians in the country – perform classics from the big band cannon along with some new commissions at the Influence Church in Richmond.

Swaledale Festival includes a diverse range of art exhibitions in various venues (check the website or brochure for opening times).

Guy Carpenter, professional photographer based in Richmond, displays spectacular photographs at Hudson House in Reeth. These include impressive Yorkshire Dales landscapes, but also the people and activities that make it the fascinating place it is today.

Michael Bilton and Lesley Knevitt present new paintings that represent very personal interpretations of the landscapes that inspire them. Their work can be viewed at the National Park offices in Bainbridge during office opening times.

Rachel Antill, Richard Barnes, Emily Harper and Freya Horsley – four outstanding northern artists - exhibit work using colour, line, texture and mark-making as a response to the Dales and Moors at Gunnerside Village Hall.

Joy and Friends is a retrospective exhibition celebrating the work of late artist and sculptor Joy Bently and many of her friends at East Windy Hall Gallery in Arkengarthdale.

As part of the festival’s community and education work, an exhibition of jazz-inspired artworks by students of Risedale Sports and Community College in Catterick and five other neighbouring schools is exhibited at The Station in Richmond and Catterick Library.

Exhibitions are free. Tickets to other events can be booked online at www.swalefest.org or through the box office on 01748 880019.