A HIGH calibre of artists and performers will be headlining next year's Grassington Festival.

The festival, in its 38th year, will be a 15-day extravaganza of music, art, free events and creative fun running from June 15 to June 30, 2018.

The final weekend starts with a Friday Night Party Night in the Marquee on June 29, featuring a performance by British Electric Foundation, brainchild of Martyn Ware of The Human League and Heaven 17 fame.

The night will showcase a stellar line-up featuring the full Heaven 17 band plus special guests including Peter Hooton (The Farm), Glen Matlock (The Sex Pistols), Jaki Graham, Mari Wilson and Glenn Gregory from Heaven 17.

In a twist on the usual event, for the first time the final day on Saturday, June 30, will feature a full day of festival fun at the Festival Field.

Kicking off at noon, there will be entertainment for all the family until 11pm. There will be a mix of local bands and musicians from all over the country, food and drink, magic and other entertainment.

The day rounds off with a headline performance by The Fratellis. Songs such as Chelsea Dagger and Whistle for the Choir will be interspersed with tracks from their new album, In Your Own Sweet Time, which is due to be released in March 2018.

Other festival highlights include the legendary Smokie who will perform in the Field Marquee on Wednesday, June 27. Originally hailing from Bradford, the band, who sing hits such as Living Next Door to Alice, continue to enjoy international success with sell-out tours and over 25 million albums sold worldwide.

Classical offerings include the Gala Concert which will be held on Sunday, June 17, at Bolton Abbey Priory.

A programme of Mozart will be performed by acclaimed soprano Peyee Chen, award-winning concert violinist Sophie Rosa, BBC music fellow Ben Crick and Skipton Building Society Camerata.

Celebrating its ten-year anniversary, the Benyounes Quartet, presented by Grassington Festival and Skipton Music, will perform an afternoon of classical music on Sunday, June 24, at Scargill House in Kettlewell.

Further artists will be announced over the coming weeks and the full programme is due to be released in March.

Tickets for the acts announced so far go on general sale from Monday to Friday, December 15.

These can be purchased from the Festival Box Office at the Hub in Grassington Square, open from 10am to 4pm and online at grassington-festival.org.uk From Saturday, December 16, tickets can still be purchased online.