THIS year's Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts will introduce a major change in a bid to attract more interest from the public.

Instead of holding a Gala Concert on the last day of the festival, organisers have changed the date to the middle of the following week.

This follows a poor attendance for the King's Hall event in previous years. Although the festival celebrated its centenary year in 2006 and goes from strength to strength with the introduction of new kinds of performance, the final concert has been a worry for organisers.

The very best talents of the festival have been showcased at the event and recently they have been appearing alongside professional musicians.

In her annual report delivered to the festival's annual general meeting at Ilkley Baptist Church yesterday, secretary Liz Sharp said: "The Gala Concert once again showcased many of the most glittering performances of the week, including the winner of last November's Wharfedale Festival of Performing Arts Dance Championship, and the Asian Dance Champion.

"As part of our centenary celebrations, the most outstanding festival performance at the Gala Concert was rewarded with the Festival Centenary Star Award. This was judged to be our Asian Dance champion, Nuthana Prathivadi. Disappointing ticket sales have meant that we are re-inventing this event for next year under the title Celebration Concert and changing the venue to one both cheaper and smaller, which will take place in the middle of the following week."

The change is the latest in a number of major alterations to the what used to be called the Wharfedale Music Festival.

Although classical music and poetry still form a large part of the event, it now showcases other art forms including Asian dance, music and holy readings; the Wharfedale Dance Champio-nships and the new WF X Factor which replaces the former Pop Star competition.

Mrs Sharp said: "This has a wider range of song styles and also a broader age group of 14 to 24. This will be run on the same lines as the TV X Factor and promises to be a very exciting competition with the audience choosing the winner."

"Our Special Needs Workshop also celebrated our Centenary with funding secured from Awards for All, Booths Supermarkets and the Spooner Trust.

"We staged a Gamelan Orchestra Workshop with blind and visually impaired children from primary schools in and around Leeds, and a 100-voice Choir comprising young people with special needs from all over Yorkshire."

As part of its centenary celebrations last year the festival published a poetry anthology and a CD which Mrs Sharp said was now on sale. She added said that festival organisers also wanted to install a plaque inside the Kings Hall, Station Road, to mark the festival's 100th birthday.

The syllabus for next year's festival, to be held in May, was published in October and is available at Ilkley and Addingham Libraries or on the festival web site which is at www.wharfedalefestival.co.uk