“We achieved everything we set out to do and much more" - Success for Light Up The Valley

LUTV Organiser Roger Benn, who owns Benchmark Travel in Mytholmroyd said, “We achieved everything we set out to do and much more. We wanted to bring some fun yet safe community enjoyment to the hilltop villages and we did just that. We wanted householders and businesses to colourfully light up their homes and businesses and they did just that.”

He continued, “We developed a dragon theme to enthrall the children, with ice eggs, an ice dragon, How to Train your Dragon 2 at the Hebden Bridge picture house, aHandmade Parade puppet dragon and a specially commissioned story from local author S E Ellis, the Dragon of Hebden Royd.

“We staged a late night shopping event and finished with a 50 stall market, ice trail and spectacular entertainment in Mytholmroyd, finishing in Hebden Bridge with a music stage on the Marina for the adults, another ice trail and a children’s entertainment area on St Pol’s Car Park & Bridge Gate.

"Everything was live streamed so can be found on Facebook and we’re just completing the editing of a film that shows everything we did and which will be published soom.”

One of the aims behind Light up the Valley, besides involving all the communities had been to try and help businesses in their recovery from their recent hardships.”

Roger commented, ‘As well as bringing local people out of their homes to support local businesses, all the many entertainers we employed for these events, bar one, were from HX7, bringing much needed income to an often overlooked section of local business.”

"The feedback we’ve been getting throughout LUTV has all been so appreciative for what we’ve been doing, that we are all truly humbled.”

Staging the events was a first time co-operation between the Rotary Club of Hebden Bridge, the Hebden Royd Business Forum and the Hebden Royd Town Council, with financial support from the European Regional Development Welcome Back Fund, the Community Foundation for Calderdale, Wadsworth and Heptonstall Parish Councils, the local Ward Forums and private individuals.

Roger commented: “Without the support from all those bodies, LUTV could not have taken place, but we sincerely hope that we’ve more than proved it’s worth and would love to try and do more LUTV events within HX7 in 2022.

"To do so we need everyone to show their support for this event by taking to social media at LUTVHX7 with their comments, or completing the feedback form at www.lutvhx7.co.uk which has a prize draw.”

Roger finished by saying: “All of those involved have worked tirelessly to pull this off, with most ending up completely exhausted in the process. However when you hear a little one saying to their grandma after one of the hilltop events, “That’s the best day of my life. I want the whole day to start again.” That sums up exactly why we did it and makes it all worthwhile.”