MISCELLANEOUS

SEDBERGH'S Ruby Red gala takes place on Saturday and residents this year will be celebrating 40 years of the traditional May event. The procession will start at 12.30pm from Maryfell and will proceed through Main Street to Lupton Field where a whole host of fun activities, from army assault courses and belly-dancing, will be on offer for young and old alike.

DOVE Cottage, the Grasmere home of the famous poet William Wordsworth, is running a series of special events for families as part of Museums Month. On Saturday, young artists will be given the chance to follow in the footsteps of countless artists, including Constable and Turner, who have been inspired by the scenery of the Lake District. Free, but children must be accompanied by an adult. Call 015394-35544 for details.

A BIRDS and the Bees Garden Bonanza, organised by Cumbria Wildlife Trust, will take place at Plumgarths on Crook Road, Kendal, on Sunday from 10am-4pm. With activities for all the family, the fun day out will include guided tours, rural craft, bee-keeping and bird-of-prey demonstrations, plus children's activities. For more details, call 01539-816300.

CONCERTS

ON Saturday, guest conductor Roger Cann will lead Ambleside Choral Society and Orchestra in a concert at Ambleside Parish Church (7.30pm). The summer evening line-up includes Schubert's Mass in G, Serenade to Music by Vaughan Williams and works by Roger Cann including an oboe solo. Call 015394-33352/33909 for details.

IF YOU enjoy singing and, in particular, the lively and inspirational music of gospel songs, then on Monday it's your chance to sing with the Lakes Summer Gospel Choir. The group are looking for new members to join them as they entertain the region this summer with a number of concerts. For more information on the meetings, each Monday at Storth's Heron Hall, call 015395-63334.

THE renowned singing tutor to the stars, Sheila Gott, will present an inspired tribute to late and hugely popular singer Eva Cassidy on Thursday at Forum 28, in Barrow, from 7.30pm.

THE Hale and Hearty Folk Club will meet on Friday night for their twice monthly singaround at The King's Arms in Hale (8.30pm). All are welcome.

THE Glitter Band celebrate their 30th anniversary with a gig at Workington's Monroe's Bar on Friday night from 9pm. Songs like I Love You Love, Hello, Hello and Leader of the Gang should have you on your feet. Call 01900-602122 for details.

THE Sunbeams Music Trust will host an auction of promises tomorrow (Saturday) after a Last Night of the Jubilee Proms concert by the Locrian Ensemble and Covent Garden Soprano Christine Teare. The top-class musical extravaganza will be held at Mitchell's Lakeland Livestock Centre in Cockermouth from 7.30pm. For details, call 01768-895485.

VAUGHAN Williams and the Tudor Inheritance is the title of a concert at St Thomas's Church in Kendal on Tuesday from 7.30pm. Music by Byrd, Tallis and Gibbons will also feature in the musical performance by Levens Choir. Call 01539-733259 for details.

BOB Geldof will star at Morecambe's Dome next Wednesday with his band, The Bobkatz. Performing material from The Best of the Boomtown Rats' and from his multi award-winning solo album, Sex, Age and Death, this is a rare opportunity to see one of Britain's greatest artists playing music close to his heart. The action starts at 8pm, call 01524-582803 for details.

THEATRE

A FABULOUS dance showcase by the professional dance students of Preston College takes place at Preston's Charter Theatre from Wednesday for three nights. Its Harder Than it Looks 2004 includes jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary dance and singing from some of the surefire musical theatre stars of the future. From 8pm (and 2pm Thursday), call 01772-258858 for booking details.

A JOYOUS celebration of the best songs currently packing theatres over in the Big Apple, Beyond Broadway is rightly one of the most popular touring shows in the UK at the minute and it will be calling in at Forum 28 at Barrow on Friday night at 7.30pm. Presented by a cast of top West End performers, their passion for music will be clear as they razzle dazzle through selected moments from Thoroughly Modern Millie, Mamma Mia, Phantom and Les Miserables. Call 01229-820000 for details.

Featuring the likes of Frank Carson, Roy Walker, Mick Miller and Ken Goodwin, The Comedians on Tour 2004 calls in at the Sands Centre in Carlisle on Saturday. From 7.30pm, the impressive line-up will have you doubled over in fits of hysterics as they present an evening of unrivalled comedy action. For more details, call 01228-625222.

CLASSICAL ballet takes centre stage at Morecambe's Dome on Tuesday when the highly acclaimed Vienna Festival Ballet Company returns with a production of Swan Lake. The famous love-story tells of a prince who falls in love with a Queen Swan, under the evil spell of a magician. It all starts at 7.30pm. Call the Box Office on 01524-582803.

EXHIBITIONS

CONCERNING Animals by Paul Hill is an intriguing new exhibition at Kendal's Brewery Arts Centre which takes a slanted look at the human world through the relationships we have with our pets. The master photographer, who has worked on such publications as The Guardian, The Observer and the Radio Times, has captured images from dog chews' to baby's dummies and images of animals as both killers and victims. Whether you have pets or not, this is definitely worth a look. Call 01539-725133 for details.

ART lovers, don't miss your chance to view work by the controversial artist, Stella Vine at Lancaster's Storey Gallery this week. Coming to an end on May 29, the current showing running alongside the successful Spacecadets exhibition - features Snow White in the Forest and The Boys (William and Harry). Call 01524-844133 for more details.

A VARIETY of paintings by members of Arnside Art Group will be on show from on Saturday for the week-long Annual Art Exhibition at the WI Hall in Arnside. Viewing is from 10am-5pm (Sunday 2pm-5pm).

THIS year marks the centenary of the Lakes Arts Society - founded by W.G. Collingwood, the secretary of the better-known John Ruskin. To mark this auspicious anniversary, an exhibition of works by some of the founder members (including Collingwood, Arthur Severn, Cuthbert Rigby and W.L.Turner) will be on show at The Ruskin Museum in Coniston until June 6. Call 015394-41164 for details.

A CENTURY of Lake District art from 1850-1950 is currently on display at Anthemion, The Antique Shop at Cartmel. The stunning exhibition, "o'er dale and hill", features familiar scenes immortalised in oil and watercolour by the likes of William Mellor, W.L. Turner and Edward H. Thompson. The exhibition is open 10am-5.30pm. Call 015395-36295 for details.

FOOT-and-mouth disease, and the affect on Cumbria is the focus of an exhibition of panoramic photographs at Lancaster's Folly. Till the Cows Come Home is an award-winning collection by Nick May and features evocative images from the autumn of 2001 to spring 2003 - from the initial devastation to the recovery and rebuilding of the countryside. The exhibition is for one more week only. Call 01524-388550 for details.

IN Brantwood's Severn Studio, you can currently see an exhibition drawn from the estate itself. Artist-in-residence Jill Rock has spent four months at Coniston's stately home collecting and painting on naturally occuring objects to make an assemblage of pieces for the exhibition In the Spirit of Ruskin. Meanwhile, in the Old Dining Room, Ruskin's Romantic Tours 1837-1838 is a collection of sketches done by a young Ruskin when travelling around the Lakes with his parents. Call 015394-41396 for details.

A THOUGHT-PROVOKING and stunning exhibition is currently on show in The Brewery Arts Centre Warehouse in Kendal. By the formidable Aidan Shingler, Only Smarties Have the Answer makes a powerful visual statement about the abuses of the psychiatric system with a sense of humour and pride. For more details, call 01539-725133.

TALKS

Saturday's Movie Meal Evening at Rheged, near Penrith, includes two spell-binding giant screen movies based on real life adventures. Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure follows the heroic achievements of Ernest Shackleton in one of the most inhospitable environments on earth while The Mysteries of Egypt explores the myth surrounding the death of the young King Tutankhamun. Combined with a mouth-watering three-course meal this is an evening to remember. For more information, or to book, call 01768-860090.

GENIUS, madman or fraud? Spain's most colourful artist, Salvador Dali, is the subject of an illustrated talk by singer, writer and broadcaster George Melly at Tullie House on Thursday (8pm). To book call 01228-534664.

ON Wednesday in the John Arden Theatre at Sedbergh School, an evening talk and slide presentation looking at the history of the Yorkshire Dales National Park will take place. In celebration of the park's 50th anniversary, Bill Wood will host the evening (from 7.30pm). 015396-22228.

TWO members of the Westmorland Geological Society, Mike Balderstone and Mike Dewey, will present an illustrated talk at Kendal Leisure Centre on Wednesday from 2pm-3pm on rocks and fossils of the far Arnside and Silverdale coastline. To book, call 01539-721374.

WALKS

TAKE a guided walk through Serpentine Woods tomorrow and learn some secrets of the woodland. Organised by the Kendal group of Cumbria Wildlife Trust, meet at 10am at the bottom of the tram' on Queen's Road, Kendal, to take part in the free, two-hour walk. Call 01539-722667 for more details.

THIS week's One Step at a Time series of short walks are as follows: On Sunday, set off from the entrance to Staveley Mill Yard at 11am for a walk around Staveley; Monday meet 5.30pm at Kendal Leisure Centre for a short walk and swim; Tuesday meet 11am at Kendal Leisure Centre for the new Kent Walk' and walk the Riverside on Thursday, meeting by the war memorial in Kendal Market Place at 2pm. Call 01539-729511 for details.

PART of the Cumbrian Flora of the Fells Festival 2004, is a three-mile walk tomorrow (Saturday). The spring stroll on Great Asby Scar will look at the special flora which can be found on the limestone pavement of this national nature reserve. Meet at 10am on the track and parking area leading off to the old quarry from the B6260.