JL Carr was a novelist, map maker and publisher. He won the Guardian Fiction prize, and was shortlisted for the Booker and Pulitzer prizes. His novel A Month In The Country was made into a film starring Kenneth Branagh, Colin Firth and Natasha Richardson.

Carr was an ardent Yorkshireman who grew up in Sherburn, with his father working as station master at Gascoigne Wood. He taught in South Milford Primary School for a pound a week in the 1930s. He was a left half for Barkston Ash Shield winners South Milford White Rose in the 1930/31 season, and based his novel How Steeple Sinderby Wanderers Won The FA Cup on the experience.

But he left the village for good after failing to come to terms with the 'carrot and stick' method of teaching employed by his headmaster at the time. Married with one son, the Spike Milligan-style author (pictured) died of leukaemia in 1994.

Now a group of dedicated fans from South Milford are hoping to revive his memory by resurrecting the village's long-lost fete, with themes surrounding the celebrated author's life and times. And the aforementioned stars of stage and screen have been invited to join in the celebrations.

Village resident and South Milford Fete Committee member Laura Reilly is one of the driving forces behind the project. She said: "In the past year, a significant amount of village agricultural land has been lost to new houses.

"With few amenities left, residents worry about this beautiful village becoming a dormitory town. I'm a mum of two young children and moved up to Yorkshire from London five years ago. Living in South Milford is the first time I've lived in a real community. I'm passionate – along with other mums – that we want to guard this special spirit for our children.

"In the same way, local knowledge of Carr is ebbing away. For many, he's a literary hero, yet we've nearly lost the generation that remembers him personally so some of us are taking action!"

Launching 'fete week' on July 15 will be the newly titled 'poet of fete' Glyn Watkins, who will take his one-man show based on JL Carr from the West End to South Milford. Tickets for the 7.30pm performance in the WI Hall are priced £5.

Glyn is also working with South Milford Primary pupils using Carr's idiosyncratic illustrated map of Yorkshire as inspiration. He was due to visit the school yesterday to help children create their own map of the village using their own drawings, poems and snippets.

South Milford's new £18,000 reflective garden will be officially opened in the playing field and dedicated to Carr at 6pm on July 18, with a limestone sculpture featuring village scenes. There will be drinks, speeches and a brass band.

This will be followed at 7.30pm by South Milford Remembered, an historical evening featuring readings from JL Carr's work by his son Bob Carr and biographer Byron Rogers.

There will be a huge montage of old village photos, with visitors able to find out how they can research their own family histories.

The actual fete will take place on July 21 between noon and 4pm, and is a revival of an old feast day tradition that faded away more than 20 years ago and that Carr wrote about in his book One Day In Summer. It will be an old-fashioned fete with bunting, Punch and Judy, a brass band, ices, fancy dress, tug-o-war and all the different community and craft groups in the village running stalls.

In addition to all this, local farmer Don Bramley is publishing the journal of Carr's elder brother Raymond entitled Visions Afar, The Journal of RW Carr 1905-2005. The journal formed the basis of the early part of Carr's biography, and lists all 50 of the stations where he served as a railwayman, including Gascoigne Wood and Burton Salmon. The book will be launched at Sherburn Methodist Church on May 24 at 7pm.
Laura added: "It's really exciting. We've been planning this since 2005 and it's finally coming together. Watch this space for more news nearer the time."

Laura can be contacted on 01977 681508 for show tickets and to loan photos for the exhibition.