FESTIVAL fever has hit York with a vengeance.

Whether you're an amateur historian, a young artist, retired or just plain hungry, the city has something to offer.

As the curtain falls on the Food & Drink Festival, York's first 50+ Festival is only just beginning - and there is much more to come.

All these events, say organisers, are putting York firmly on the map for culture-seekers from across the country.

The triumphant York Food & Drink Festival, hailed as the best yet, drew to a close on Sunday.

Festival organiser Michael Hjort said: "It's been a marvellous ten days. We have been able to do exactly what we wanted to do, concentrating on good quality regional food. Our ticket sales have gone up enormously on previous years, and that bodes very well for the future."

As the Food and Drink Festival was rounding off its ninth successful year, a festival newcomer was getting under way.

The York 50+ Festival waslaunched on Saturday. The nine-day festival - the city's first - celebrates the wealth of creativity and culture among the city's older residents.

Timed to coincide with International Older People's Day on October 1, shows, classes and events will be held across the city.

The festival kicked off with a knit-in in the Guildhall, organised by the Retired and Senior Volunteer Programme (RSVP).

Spokeswoman Ann Pulleyn said: "Our real aim is to give older people something to do which at the same time is helping someone else.

"Retired people have the time to sit down and teach others to knit or play chess or anything else. Anything a retired person can do, someone else wants to learn."

Michael Hjort added: "We all know that York is a city with a lively culture and an active social life. We need to portray it as a place with a fantastic historic infrastructure where things happen.

"I have no doubt that all this is putting York on the map."

Seventeen-year-old Amanda Sanderson cooked her way to victory in Sunday's Young Chef's Competition. Amanda, who works at Vanilla Black, in Swinegate, impressed judges with her roast partridge, cooked on the bone to keep it juicy.

Updated: 09:48 Monday, September 26, 2005