STORYTELLING, craft and animation workshops and a drama school are among the summer holiday activities lined up at Otley Courthouse.

The venue has just announced its lineup for the long school break which will kick off in literary style with a Roald Dahl day on Tuesday, August 2.

Arranged to mark the celebrated author's 100th anniversary and the release of The BFG at cinemas this summer, the day begins with a 10am to noon storytelling and craft workshop.

The Courthouse's resident storyteller Vickie Orton will read excerpts from some of Dahl's best loved books, while children will learn how to make 'dream catching jars'.

Suitable for children aged five and over, the event costs £5 per child.

It will be followed at 2pm by a screening of Matilda, the movie based on Dahl's work of the same name.

Tickets for the film cost £4 for adults and £2 for children, or children can stay and attend both events by buying a day ticket - which includes a packed lunch - for £12.

Younger children, meanwhile, can take part in a Toddler Time from 10am to noon on each Wednesday of August, when they can get messy in the art corner, play with toys and instruments or read books.

The sessions are free and open to children aged up to five and their carers.

A film adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's magical novel, The Secret Garden, will be shown at the Courthouse at 10am on Thursday, August 4.

Admission costs £4 for adults and £2 for children.

Budding thespians will be able to indulge their passion by joining a Performance Summer School which runs from 9.30am to 3.30pm daily from Monday, August 8 to Friday, August 12.

Participants, who can be aged from four to 14, will learn musical and dance techniques that will be showcased in an end-of-week show.

For more details or to book a place send an e-mail to sue.performance@gmail.com or call Sue on (01943) 602265.

Tuesday, August 16 will see the return of the Lego Minecraft Workshop to the Courthouse.

Back by popular demand, the 10am to 11.30am event lets children aged seven or older let their imaginations run wild using Lego, clay, paint and other materials.

Tickets cost £5 per child.

Otley Library will host The Adventures of Walter Lemonface on Thursday, August 18, when children will join the adventurer and inventor on a story that they help control.

The free, 20 minute event runs at 11.30am, 12.30pm and 2pm and is suitable for three to eight year olds.

Back at the Courthouse, another movie matinee - Big Hero 6, following the adventures of Hiro and his high-tech hero friends - will be shown on Tuesday, August 23.

The film starts at 2pm and admission costs £4 for adults, £2 for children.

Children can learn how to make their own films, meanwhile, at a Digital Animation Workshop on Thursday, August 25.

The event will show participants how to build their own set and clay figure and then shoot a film - which they can then take home, with their models - using stop animation.

Tickets cost £9 per child, with a session for seven to ten year olds taking place from 10am to 1pm and a 2pm to 5pm slot for eleven to 14 year olds.

Finally on Wednesday, August 31, a Craft in the Cafe session will be held where anyone aged five or over can use all kinds of materials to fashion their own creations.

The workshop runs from 10am to 11.30am and costs £5 per child.

For more details on any of the events or to book a place call (01943) 467466 or visit otleycourthouse.org.uk .