Yanks Weekend was a popular annual event in Uppermill. Although the original event, known as “Yanks are back in Saddleworth”, is no longer running, Saddleworth has in some years still put on a good show for an unofficial two-day event, which turns the village into 1940s wartime England for the weekend.
Sadly, the official Yanks Weekend hasn’t returned to Saddleworth in recent years, but I’ll update this page if it ever makes a comeback.
A Facebook page was set up that listed all the activities of the ‘war-time weekend’ in 2022, and it’s the best place to look for news of any future events.
The festival celebrated the Hollywood movie “YANKS” starring Richard Gere and Vanessa Redgrave that was filmed in Uppermill and Dobcross in 1979. The weekend would normally include incredible costumes, wartime entertainment and music, dancing, military vehicle parade, American classic cars, a funfair, exhibitions and lots of local pub entertainment, and if the weather was OK there was even a flyover from a Lancaster Bomber.
See the official “Yanks are back in Saddleworth” page or their Facebook page for more about the event’s history. Visit David Schofield Images to see some great pictures from the 2017 event – he’s also got some amazing photographs of Saddleworth on there as well.
Cheers and beers and Yanks!
Cliff