As restrictions continue to ease, events and festivals are at long last returning. So, here’s our pick of the best events coming next month across the destinations and attractions we work with. Most events require booking in advance. As ever, please check individual websites for the latest updates.
HULL
In My Room
Humber Street Gallery
1 Jul – 12 Sep 2021
Free
https://bit.ly/3voTG81
Artists Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings bring their first solo institutional exhibition, In My Room, to Humber Street Gallery. This new body of work develops the artists’ study of politics, histories and aesthetics of spaces and culture. “In My Room”, a new film, highlights the impact of gentrification upon the city and its gay communities, whilst also exploring the relationship between masculinity, capitalism and power. A major fresco painting also depicts a high street populated by pedestrians, which considers the role urban architecture plays in the formation of identities. Humber Street Gallery is a visual arts base, and café., which hosts a year-round exhibitions programme as well as events, performances and activities.
Romeo and Juliet
Stage@TheDock
15 Jul – 7 Aug 2021
£26
https://bit.ly/3wsv8fJ
This summer, the streets of Verona are transported to Hull, as one of the greatest love stories ever told takes place at the Stage@TheDock, an amphitheatre-style multi-purpose venue built in an old dry dock overlooking the River Hull. Shakespeare’s timeless tale of passion and tragedy, set in a divided society, is as fresh and relevant now as it has ever been. and this sparkling new version, will be told with live music and in the open air.
Creative Hull
Across the city centre
16 – 18 Jul 2021
free
https://bit.ly/2RUJYMS
Creative Hull is a weekend long celebration of the creativity and culture that Hull has to offer, taking place from the 16 -18 July 2021. Occupying disused shops and buildings, outdoor spaces, existing venues and taking place digitally, Creative Hull is a moment to celebrate the city’s culture and the role it can play as we emerge from this last year – responding to the changes brought and shaping a new optimistic future. More details coming soon.
EAST YORKSHIRE
Hitting the right note at Burton Agnes
Jazz and Blues Festival 2021
9- 11 July 2021
https://bit.ly/3uj0gMK
Described by the Daily Telegraph as “one of the best fifteen festivals for the over 50s”, the 14th Burton Agnes Jazz & Blues Festival, is all set to takes place this year during the weekend of July 9-11. Some of the UK’s hottest jazz and blues acts will grace the main stage, against a backdrop that’s hard to beat.
DERBY
Wild Walk – Here be Dragons
21st – 25th July 2021
Markeaton Park
Tickets: £9
https://bit.ly/3vqaM5x
Returning this summer, an outdoor adventure theatre show from ‘funsters’, the Babbling Vagabonds! Join the brave zoologists, the ‘Monster Menders’ as they take care of strange and peculiar creatures. Discover the wonderfully weird and woolly, the slimiest and smelliest, and those shy secretive monsters that slither and wobble about in our wonderful world. Could you tangle with a five-headed Hottle-Spottle with toothache, or becalm a Big Bottomed Banghanger with belly rot? Then this wild walk is just what your family needs.
Open air cinema
Markeaton Park
Tickets £14
https://bit.ly/35m0CIq
Pull up a camping chair and get your picnic ready – Markeaton Park’s much-loved Summer Outdoor Cinema Season is back in July. For 2021, the films have a distinctly musical flavour with screenings of Bohemian Rhapsody (29), A Star is Born (30) and Rocketman (31).
Ram Trail
Throughout July
Free
https://derbyramtrail.org
This new public art trail features 30 uniquely decorated ram sculptures and will be in place until 22 August 2021. A flock of five-foot high ram sculptures – celebrating the close association between the city and an ancient mythical beast – will create a new free, walkable art sculpture trail. A new smartphone ‘quest-like’ app will also allow visitors to digitally ‘collect’ and interact with the Rams.
LINCOLNSHIRE
Get impish in Lincoln
Lincoln Imp Trail
From 3 July
Free trail
https://lincolnimptrail.co.uk
Hidden in the upper reaches of Lincoln Cathedral you’ll find a symbol of the city surrounded by myth and legend: the Lincoln Imp. But this summer, you’ll have no trouble discovering the impish little fellow, thanks to a new trail of colourful sculptures throughout the city, designed by local and national artists. The free, family-friendly trail celebrating Lincoln, its art, culture and heritage, will encourage visitors to enjoy not only the famous sights, but some of the city’s hidden gems too. Thirty individually designed and hand painted Imps will be on display in Lincoln, with one taking up residence at the seaside in Skegness, while five ‘Roaming Imps’ will move among shops and businesses, peeping out from window displays.
STAFFORDSHIRE
Luna Cinema
National Memorial Arboretum
16-18 July
Tickets from £15.50. Early booking recommended.
https://bit.ly/3ws7XlI
Where better to watch the highly acclaimed First World War movie, 1917, than in the grounds of the UK’s year-round Centre of Remembrance? Nestled in a woodland landscape is a collection of nearly 400 memorials on a 150 acre site, which is also home to the Armed Forces Memorial. Relax in the beautiful Arboretum grounds and enjoy an outdoor cinema experience with a difference. As well as 1917 (screening on 18 July) the outdoor cinema also features Rocketman (16) and Dirty Dancing (17).
Lichfield Festival
8 – 18 July 2021
Various venues and ticket prices
https://lichfieldfestival.org
Enjoy eleven days of entertainment and culture in and around the beautiful cathedral city of Lichfield, from ballet to cabaret, steel pans to symphony orchestras, live cooking, story-telling and laugh-out-loud comedy. Amazing vocalists top the line-up at Lichfield Cathedral including British Queen of Soul, Mica Paris and Brit-award winning folk star Eddi Reader, while also in the Cathedral are Ballet Cymru, fiery flamenco from Xuefei Yang and Maria Vega, and impressionist turned pianist Alistair McGowan. The Festival’s Aspire! Family Day takes place outdoors on the final Festival Saturday (17 July), centred around the Cathedral lawn, with a new version of Peter & the Wolf, Grimethorpe Colliery Band and Lichfield Mystery Plays among the entertainment.
The Great British Food Festival at Trentham
The Trentham Estate
10 – 11 July 2021
Entry included with normal Garden admission (£12 adults, £9 child)
https://bit.ly/2SrfT87
Trentham’s award-winning gardens will host The Great British Food Festival this summer, featuring celebrity chef talks, demos, baking competitions and Kids kitchens. Showcasing the very best of Great British produce, the event – taking place at the 750-acre Trentham Estate for the first time – celebrates all things culinary.
STOKE-ON-TRENT
Your City Festival
24 – 25 July 2021
Tickets: £11.37 – £16.76
www.yourcityfestival.com
Your City Festival returns in 2021 to ignite the streets of Stoke-on-Trent with the UK’s hottest emerging talent. An annual music festival spread across the music venues of the city centre, celebrating local music heritage by offering a chance for local artists to perform alongside national touring artists.
HAMPSHIRE
Winchester Hat Fair
Winchester
2 – 4 July 2021
Tickets from £5. Tickets are limited and pre-booking is required.
https://www.hatfair.co.uk
A family-friendly festival of street performance and outdoor arts, Hat Fair is the UK’s longest continually running festival of outdoor arts, and back for 2021 with three days of entertainment featuring theatre, dance and circus events. In a change to previous years the Hat Fair Festival will be a ticketed event and take place at North Walls Recreation Ground and in Winchester School of Art’s car park. Aiming to shine a light on the city, transforming the everyday into the extraordinary, it was Initially conceived as a busking festival, and takes its name from the tradition of the audience showing their appreciation by putting money in the hat at the end of the show.
Lymington Seafood Festival
Lymington
16 – 18 July 2021
Tickets from £5
www.lymingtonseafoodfestival.co.uk
The annual Lymington Seafood Festival is back for three days of glorious seafood, shopping and live music. With views across the Solent estuary this boutique event features some of the most exciting and innovative artisan food and drink producers who’ll be cooking up fishy delicacies from around the world across the weekend. As well as showcasing the region’s best producers and pop-up restaurants, the 5th Lymington Seafood Festival also welcomes the UK’s number 1 Elton John Tribute Band, soul & blues, acoustic Celtic Folk bands and plenty more entertainment besides.
A 301st birthday bash
Gilbert White’s House, Selborne
18 July 2021
Free to enter
https://bit.ly/2RUuAA6
Everyone is invited to celebrate Gilbert White’s 300th birthday – exactly one year after the “due date”. Delayed by lockdowns and restrictions, the 301st anniversary of the pioneering naturalist will feature a free day of fun activities, stalls and live performances at the beautifully restored House and Gardens. Selborne and its surrounding landscape inspired parson naturalist Gilbert White’s life-long investigation of the natural world, culminating in his world-famous book ‘The Natural History and Antiquities of Selborne’, which helped transform the way we look at the natural world.
Simply Ford at Beaulieu
Beaulieu, National Motor Museum
18 July 2021
Included with normal admission (£21.50 adult, £10 child)
www.beaulieu.co.uk/events/simply-ford/
Calling all Ford car owners and enthusiasts… Beaulieu is the place to be on Sunday 18 July for a celebration of the famous car maker’s models. From custom Fiestas, restored Mk1 Escorts and even the odd Transit, Beaulieu’s Simply Ford show is one of the UK’s premier Ford events. Offering a chance to admire a stunning range of vehicles and to connect with fellow enthusiasts, your ticket also includes entry to the Beaulieu attraction, including the National Motor Museum, Palace House, Beaulieu Abbey and World of Top Gear.
The Hundred at The Ageas Bowl
Southampton
From 30 July 2021
Tickets from £14
https://bit.ly/3pBMF2q
Fittingly for a county that lay claim to being the ‘cradle’ of cricket, Hampshire will be one of the hosts of The Hundred, a new sports competition launching this summer, fusing blockbuster entertainment with world-class cricket. Combining a new short, fast format of cricket, with each game lasting less than three hours, and incredible entertainment beyond sport, The Hundred will make cricket more accessible to reach a broader audience. It’s simple: 100 balls per team, most runs wins, so every ball counts.
