Artist Carol White will join artist and illustrator Pauline Alldis at the Pebbles Art Café on Shield Street, Allendale, as part of the Christmas Art Tour 2008.

There will be a warm welcome and the chance to view or buy original prints and much more on December 6, 7, 13 and 14 from 10am until 5pm.

The Tour takes place in 20 studios between November 14 and December 15 and includes painters, potters, ceramicists, jewellery makers, photographers and craft makers.

Ceramicist Steph Jamieson will be throwing opens the doors at a former dairy at Allendale. In nearby Catton, Jos Mahon, pictured, will be opening up her studio to show work from her recent travels.

Colourful arts and crafts will be on display at a range of unusual venues throughout the village while musicians will take centre stage in local shops and cafes.

Even St Cuthbert's Church has been taken over for the weekend, with striking works by local glass artists Rena Holford and Willa Story gracing the altar.

Their friendship was forged through a love of art. Oliver Kilbourn was the miner who discovered an innate talent for capturing the world around him and William Feaver, pictured, is an art critic who now favours landscape painting over writing.

Allendale Lions club are bringing their beer festival back for the second year running on Sunday, August 17.

The fundraising event will go on from noon till 7.30pm, and the Lions will share their passion for local real ales with punters for a fiver. Attendees will also have the chance to get souvenir glasses.

But beyond the physical remains are the stories of the mining families, many of whom were forced to emigrate as the industry changed and went into decline.

Rachel Clarke, who lives in Stanhope in Weardale, has not only studied the exodus of these workers but has followed in their footsteps.