ONE of Grassington Festival's treats this year is magician Paul Zenon.

An old boy of Ermysted's Grammar School, in Skipton, he describes himself as a local lad "made bad".

He says he skived off school to make his first stage appearance aged 11, while his television debut came when he was 15.

As a teenager, the Earby youngster spent every summer working in a Blackpool joke and magic shop.

In the late 1990s, Paul pioneered what has now become known as "street magic" in a series of ground-breaking TV shows, where he honed a cutting-edge contemporary style.

He continues to appear in various guises on numerous television shows, including as a regular special guest in Dictionary Corner on Channel 4's Countdown.

Other shows have included The Story of Light Entertainment on BBC2 and Paul Zenon's Revenge Squad and White Magic, both screened on ITV1.

In recent years, his shows have had sell-out runs at the Edinburgh, Brighton, Adelaide and Melbourne festivals.

Paul is also the author of the best-selling 100 Hundred Ways to Win a Tenner, Paul Zenon's Dirty Tricks and Street Magic.

As previously reported by the Craven Herald, he is currently setting up a non-profit organisation called The Wonderbus to take older people out to see live entertainment.

Paul will be bringing a party of 12 to see his Grassington Festival show from Valley Gardens in Earby.

He will be sharing the limelight with magician Mark Raffles, now in his late eighties, and young Skipton magician Mark Waddington, who will be astounding members of the audience in the bar with his close-up tricks.

Paul Zenon - Turning Tricks will be on stage at Grassington Town Hall at 8.30pm on Tuesday June 19. Tickets cost £16.

Details of full festival events and performances can be found by calling the box office on 01756 752691 or by visiting the festival website at www.grassington-festival.org.uk