As restrictions continue to ease, events and festivals are at long last returning, although with social distancing measurements still in place for the time being. So, as a new feature, 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
The Big Malarky
26 – 27 Jun 2021
Free to attend
https://thebigmalarkeyfestival.com
Hull’s Children’s Literature Festival returns for the fourth year in 2021, with another invitation to children and families to take a trip Set to return an in-person event once more, in East Park, Hull’s largest park, boasting picnic areas, boats, a flume and an animal education centre. There will be some familiar faces and some new tents, authors, poets and illustrators to meet, and plenty of opportunities for children to write, draw, dance, play, sing along and tell jokes on the Funny Bone stage.
Moby Dick
2-12 June
Stage@TheDock
Tickets: £20
www.thejohngodbercompany.co.uk/moby-dick
Outdoor theatre, featuring a radical new reworking of Herman Melville’s epic novel, Moby Dick, is set to return to Hull this summer. Hosting the shows in June will be Stage@TheDock, an amphitheatre-style multi-purpose venue built in an old dry dock overlooking the River Hull, which offers the perfect location for this maritime classic. The new version of Moby Dick, adapted by playwrights John Godber and Nick Lane, will transport audiences from what was Hull’s Central Dry Dock to the deck of Captain Ahab’s ship, the Pequod, in his catastrophic battle with the monster white whale.
EAST YORKSHIRE
Spurn Safaris
Spurn National Nature Reserve
Selected dates throughout June
£22 (Adult) £10 (Child)
https://www.ywt.org.uk/events?tags=252
Back by popular demand, this famous tour takes visitors on a journey to Yorkshire’s very own ‘Land’s End’ aboard a specially adapted ex-military, 4×4 truck (‘Unimog’). An iconic and constantly moving peninsula, Spurn Point curves between the North Sea and the Humber Estuary, and is over three miles long, but as little as 50 metres wide. Tales of the peninsula’s fascinating natural, military and maritime history complete the adventure, expertly told by knowledgeable and friendly guides. The trip also includes a visit to the top of northern England’s tallest lighthouse.
LINCOLNSHIRE
Dog Friendly Weekend
Lincoln Castle
26 – 27 June 2021
Admission: check website for details
Unlock 1,000 years of history with your furry companion over the weekend for a paw-some day out. From the banks of the Norman Motte to the Prison Cells, your dog can follow you on a journey back through history exploring the Medieval Wall Walk, Victorian Prison and the Magna Carta. Built by William the Conqueror in 1068 on a site occupied since Roman times, Lincoln Castle has dominated the city skyline for almost 1,000 years. Normally dogs are not allowed on the site, but each year the Castle runs special dog friendly weekends. Dogs must be kept on leads at all times. Dogs are allowed to enter the cinema space and the David PJ Ross Magna Carta building but not allowed in the Vault
Vintage-On-Sea
Sutton-on-Sea
26 – 27 June 2021
Admission: check website for details
https://bit.ly/3wQ6u8p
Celebrating all things “Vintage” the weekend will bring a variety of music and entertainment for the whole family to enjoy. Cancelled last year, organisers Visit Lincs Coast moved the 2021 dates to late June in the hope that more visitors will be able to join in the festivities. On offer will be live music and dance, re-enactments, classic vehicles, street theatre, children’s entertainment, traditional fairground attractions and a Vintage Market… and vintage attire is very much encouraged!
DERBY
Ram Trail
Throughout June
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.
STAFFORDSHIRE
Craft In Focus at Trentham Gardens
10-13 June
Entry included in normal Garden admission charges (£12 adult, £10 senior and £9 child (3-15 years)
www.trentham.co.uk/whats-on/trentham-gardens/craft-in-focus/
Craft In Focus are staging a Contemporary Craft Fair at Trentham Gardens featuring around 80 of the UK’s finest contemporary artists and makers staged in semi open sided marquees within Trentham Gardens with its vast perennial plantings providing breath-taking vistas. All exhibitors have designed and made the work that they display, which includes textiles, paintings, furniture, metalwork, leatherwork, ceramics, jewellery, interior accessories, sculpture, glass, fashion and more.
STOKE-ON-TRENT
Stoke ON TREND GamesJam 2021: Play in the City Centre
19 June – 11 July 2021
www.stokeontrentcitycentre.co.uk/gamesjam2021
Here’s a chance for visitors to experience Stoke-on-Trent, and celebrate the city’s heritage, in a brand new digital, innovative way. The digital games event will see hundreds of aspiring designers – or Jammers – from schools, colleges and universities come together online to create smartphone playable games themed on the city centre. The games – all of which are centred around one of six city centre key themes – will be made available to play via QR codes at various locations within the city centre. Trail maps pinpointing QR codes will be made available nearer to the time.
HAMPSHIRE
Dogstival
Burley Park, New Forest
5 – 6 June 2021
Tickets from £8
https://dogstival.co.uk
Set in the picturesque village of Burley, in the heart of the New Forest, Dogstival blends entertainment and lifestyle with everything your dogs could wish for. With cool, quirky production and design, shopping, delicious food, live music to get those tails wagging, special guests who are experts in all things canine and activities for dogs of all breeds or sizes to get their paws involved.
The Grange Hampshire – Wine Tour, Picnic and Tasting
7 & 8 June 2021
£55 a person
Come the summer, the vines will be in luxuriant leaf, the bees will be buzzing around the flower-filled alleys and The Grange invite you to come and join them for a picnic in the vineyard. On a south-facing slope of the Hampshire Downs, overlooking the crystal-clear waters of the River Itchen, this 30-acre family-owned vineyard produces award-winning sparkling wines. After a tour, you’ll be able to taste the wine and relax with a Becka Cooper picnic. Places are limited to 25 for each session and must be booked in advance.
Papa’s Paddle to the Pub
20 June 2021
£34 adults, £19 children
www.newforestactivities.co.uk/activities/seasonal/
Treat your Papa to a relaxing paddle on the stunning Beaulieu River this Father’s Day with New Forest Activities! Enjoy paddling together through the Beaulieu River Nature Reserve as a family – and of course, we’ll pop open the coolbox and provide you with some ‘boat bevvys’ along the way to keep Dad refreshed on his special day. The perfect Father’s Day gift for deserving Dads. Great for all ages, all equipment provided.
Father’s Day Cruise with Shieldhall Stompers Jazz Band
27 June 2021
Adults £43, Children £13
It may be a week later, but how about a cruise on Steamship Shieldhall, the largest working steamship in Britain, plus a spot of sea-born jazz as a Father’s Day treat? Enjoy the Shieldhall Stompers Jazz Band while cruising on the Shieldhall, a member of the National Historic Fleet, which serves as a sea going tribute to Britain’s maritime heritage. The cruise includes seeing the engine room with its original steam engines at work and the bridge, with its traditional instruments, and the ship’s steam assisted steering gear (similar to that used on Titanic). On the return, the Shieldhall will steam by P&O’s flagship, Britannia, as she departs on her maiden passenger cruise of 2021.
