Friends of Silsden Town Hall

Having found myself with about one month to organise a wedding reception for my son, I was starting to despair. Every single village hall, event hall or room for hire in the area was either fully booked or too small or I didn't hear back. Just as I was starting to desperately consider wilder options (such as splitting guests over two venues or telling the love birds to have a tea and biscuits reception in our garden shed) I came across the site for Silsden Town Hall. Finding if it was available was simplicity itself as there is clear online timetable that shows if it's booked or not. The Friends who run it (on a voluntary basis) were brilliant; efficient, friendly, helpful and super-accommodating. The venue itself is absolutely perfect for just about any event, with plenty of space in both halls, and massive windows in the ballroom which provides loads of natural light and gave a wonderful spacious feel to the event. There are toilets on both floors, including disabled on the first floor, and a lift for anyone who doesn't do stairs. It is a stunning Victorian building with a dignified, grand feel inside and it's immaculately presented with every corner feeling clean and cared for. We couldn't use the kitchen for cooking or preparing food/drinks, but were allowed access to the space - which we used to put pre-prepared food onto plates etc. There was ample parking on nearby streets and in the carpark across the road, with everything free and time limits being lifted as it was Sunday. The caretaker had set up the tables/chairs we needed (thanks Mark) and we had an hour to arrange the rooms so they looked weddingy. I have to say, I feel that I did rather well on this front, with real plants, fake candles (no flames allowed) and rather a lot of random objects spray painted gold to give everything a 'theme'. The bride was pleased, which was the main thing in my book. We had to clear the Town Hall (obviously) after the event and needed to take all rubbish away with us. Many thanks to all the Friends of Silsden Town Hall, especially Judi and Mark, without whom I couldn't have possibly begun to organise such a successful wedding reception at such incredibly short notice. It is a beautiful building and valuable community space that, I feel, is a real asset to West Yorkshire.

Went to see a David Bowie tribute act at the Silsden Town Hall. It's a great little venue with decent priced drinks! Definitely will be going to another gig here in the future.

One of the best kept secrets in live music locally. Warm welcome from the volunteers who run the venue, superb selection of quality musicians. Reasonably priced (bottle) bar. Spread the word!

Range of fantastic and curious events e.g. a talk on Viking or Arab astronomy by Martin Lunn

Great concerts - tribute bands. Loved Art of Simon!