A HOST of activities – including a parade – has been held as Keighley took centre stage for Yorkshire Day.

The town had been chosen to hold the official Yorkshire Day civic celebration for the first time since the annual event – which takes place every August 1 – began in 1985.

And this year has marked the event's post-pandemic return.

Keighley Town Council said it was "deeply honoured" to be selected to host the celebrations.

It organised a packed programme, in conjunction with the Yorkshire Society.

Family attractions have been on offer across the town, over three days.

Activities began on Saturday, when the Yorkshire Dialect Society staged an event in Keighley Library.

Celebrating the Yorkshire Dialect included keynote speakers, readings and recitations of poems and prose.

There was also an exhibition about Keighley's renowned local historian Dr Ian Dewhirst, who died in 2019.

Yesterday, there were inflatables and other children's attractions at Church Green – run by Bradford Community Play and Development Service.

That day and today – Yorkshire Day itself – there was also an artisan market, staged by RSH Markets, on the Church Green car park; locally-based organisations and charities showcased their work, and there was live entertainment, in Town Hall Square; and entertainment was on offer in the Airedale Shopping Centre.

Keighley Creative was at Church Green, with a Yorkshire rose workshop.

The Livery Rooms hosted children's activities, face painting, stalls and a barbecue.

And today flag-waving crowds turned out for a parade featuring mayors from across Yorkshire, VIP guests and Yorkshire Society members.

The procession – led by the Yorkshire Regiment Corps of Drums – set off from Sainsbury's car park and headed up Cavendish Street and along North Street to Keighley Shared Church.

Cheering people, many proudly holding Yorkshire flags, lined the route.