... in the area this week.

Miscellaneous

The 35th annual Kendal Torchlight Carnival rolls into town on Friday. This year's theme is Beat of the Feet Culture of Carnival. As well as the procession of floats, marching bands and dancers there will be many street entertainers plus the Gooseholme fairground. The entertainment begins at 7pm.

THE famous Cartmel Valley Duck Race takes place at Ayside Pool, Cartmel, on Saturday. As well as the chance to win a few bob there will be fun for all the family. The events start at 5pm at the pool, near Longlands Farm, off the Cartmel to Newby Bridge Road.

GRIZEDALE Arts present an evening of open-microphone stand-up comedy compered by funnyman Bedwyr Williams at the Eagles Head, Satterthwaite, on Friday night. There will be the opportunity to perform your routine to a global audience as the evening's entertainment is webcast around the world. There will also be a live link-up to a bar in New York and a cash prize for best act of the night. The evening runs from 7pm to 10pm.

THE Heron Corn Mill is celebrating the Heritage Open Days event with two-and-a-half days of free entertainment and arts (Saturday-Monday). The programme will include guided walks and mill songs by Stanza and Trouble a't Mill. For a full programme, call 015395-65027.

ULVERSTON Charter Festival continues this week with a variety of events taking place around the town. On Saturday, there will be the Ulverston Gardeners' Summer Show at the Coronation Hall (1pm-5pm); on Saturday the Charter Longbow Tournament takes place at Ford Park (11am-3.30pm); and on Monday the Ulverston Artists Exhibition opens at the Coronation Hall.

THE Morecambe Heritage Gala takes place on Sunday at Morecambe Promenade, Arena and the Platform forecourt. It should be a great day out for all the family with spectacular air displays throughout the day from the Red Arrows, Spitfires, the RAF Falcons Parachute team and a Lancaster Bomber. The Bradford to Morecambe Vintage Vehicle Rally will be on display on the Promenade and there will be a programme of free music and street theatre entertainment. For more information, call 01524-582803.

POULTON Heritage Festival will be bringing the past to life with a series of wartime-themed events including a D-Day style battle on Morecambe beach. Other highlights include a 1940s wedding and dance, a display of more than 100 military vehicles, and a veterans' parade. The festival begins on Friday and ends with a torchlight parade at 7pm on Sunday.

A CHILDREN'S Art Club will be taking place at the Castle Centre, Kendal, on Saturday from 10am to noon.

KENDAL will be blooming next Tuesday and Wednesday at the 70th annual Westmorland Horticultural Society show in the Parish and Kirkland halls. Doors open to the public from 10am to 7.30pm on Tuesday and from 10am to 7pm on Wednesday. Entry costs £1 /50p concessions. For more details, call 01539-741267.

THE Wordsworth Trust Summer Poetry Readings continue with poet, critic and playwright Sean O'Brien appearing at the Thistle Hotel, Grasmere, on Tuesday. The evening begins at 6.30pm.

CONCERTS

THE Lancaster Jazz Festival opens on Thursday, bringing world-class jazz music to various streets and venues in Lancaster and Morecambe. For a full festival programme call 01524-582803.

LONSDALE Chamber Orchestra will be performing a concert entitled Ancient and Modern at Kendal Parish Church, on Friday. The programme will include baroque concertos by Vivaldi, Bach and many more. The concert begins at 7.30pm. Tickets are available on the door.

EXHIBITIONS

THIS year's Kendal Windows on Art exhibition is currently showing in the town with many paintings, drawings, sculptures and photographs on display in shops, businesses and local galleries. For details, visit www.kwoa.org.uk IMPERIAL War Museum North, Salford Quays, is currently hosting an exhibition entitled The Greater Game: Sport, War and Peace looking at the similarities between sport and conflict and the role of sport in bringing people together in wartime. For details, call 0161-836-4000.

THE complete body of Lucian Freud's published etchings are being displayed at Kendal's Abbot Hall Art Gallery. Including some rare early prints and several new and unpublished works, the 60 pieces cover a variety of subjects from portraits and nudes to studies of nature.

BRANTWOOD, Coniston, is hosting an exhibition of floral photography by Dave Marshall Ward. The exhibition opens on Saturday and runs until October 24. For details, call 015394-41396 GROUPSHOW, an exhibition of paintings by artists Barbara Braithwaite, Gwendol Gains and Jean Wright, is showing at Farfield Mill, Sedbergh. For details, call 015396-21958.

THEATRE

STAVELEY Amateur Operatic Society will be performing their 50th anniversary-production of Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado which was the society's first production 50 years ago. The Mikado runs until Saturday, September 18, with performances at 7.30pm. For tickets, call 01539-722277.

THE Lancaster Footlights present It Could Be Any One of Us, Alan Ayckbourn's take on an Agatha Christie murder mystery at the Lancaster Grand on Tuesday. To add to the thrilling atmosphere, Ayckbourn wrote three different endings with three different murderers, decided by the actors during a game of cards so there could be a different finale every night. The play runs until September 17 with performances at 7.30pm. For details, call 01524-64695.

THE hilarious and moving Vagina Monologues by Eve Ensler, starring Lesley Joseph, Linda Robson and Mica Paris, is showing at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, on Friday and Saturday at 9pm. For tickets, call 0870-401-9000.

CATS, the Andrew Lloyd-Webber smash hit musical, is on at the Manchester Opera House Friday and Saturday at 7.30pm (Saturday matinee at 2.30pm). For tickets, call 0870-401-9000.

KES, the classic tale of a boy's relationship with his pet kestrel, directed by Sarah Frankcom, is appearing at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, until October 16. For details, call 0161-833-9833.

AN ADAPTATION of the Hitchcock classic Dial M for Murder is appearing at The Lowry, Salford, this weekend (Friday and Saturday). Performances begin at 7.30pm (3pm Saturday). For tickets, call 0870-787-5780.

THE Brewery Theatre Company production of Oh! What a Lovely War opens at the Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal, on Thursday. The show promises a spectacular combination of singing, music and dancing to celebrate comradeship and courage during the war.