FESTIVAL FEVER

Birmingham Festival 23, a 10-day programme of free live music, performance and other events, kicks off late next month and is organised by the team behind the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games Festival. Creative Director Raidene Carter, who was executive producer of last year’s event, chats to What’s On about how the new festival came about, what audiences can expect, and why it’s important for Birmingham...

Where did the idea for an anniversary festival come from, Raidene, or was it something that was envisioned all along? It was an evolving idea that brought together a few conversations, ideas and strategic plans. Birmingham 2022 Festival had legacy ambitions that were developed with funders and strategic partners, and one thread was exploring a new international festival that could be a future platform for some of the outcomes achieved and ambitions raised through staging the 2022 festival. There was undeniably a shared joyful experience of being in the city during Games time; people felt good, and this was a collective energy that would not have been the same if culture hadn’t occupied the city in the way it did.

Given the cost-of-living crisis, it’s great that the festival is free to attend. Do you see this as a positive statement of intent by Birmingham City Council in terms of a commitment to funding culture in the region?

Possibly… hopefully! That said, I think the cost-of-living ‘crisis’ and commitments to funding culture are related, but I choose not to see them side by side, as this tends to unfairly make us question the value of culture. Culture has, time and time again, proven a return on investment both in terms of the financial value that can be calculated and the non-tangible value it gives back over time - happiness, wellbeing, sense of pride and place, making places attractive for visitors and businesses. It’s not a myth - last year the six-month festival cost roughly £16million and the independent festival evaluation calculated a £100million direct return with a further £87million in gross value added. So while we should absolutely celebrate that the City Council is funding the festival this year, we should also recognise that it’s a smart move - culture is a good investment!

Do you hope that making the festival free will encourage people who may not usually attend arts & cultural events to check them out?

For sure. Honestly, while we want everyone and anyone to come out and enjoy the festival, we’re working hard to make sure that the audiences we reached last year - of which

70 per cent were from lower and low-income households - come back again, because the diversity and profile of the audiences we reached wasn’t the same as those who regularly attend arts & cultural events. We’d love for those who felt they took a risk last year, to come out again this year, and it will hopefully seem less of a risk and more familiar this time.

This year’s event follows a similar pattern to 2022 in terms of utilising local talent, including a Made In Brum element. Can we expect to see some of last year’s favourites as well as new faces?

Yes, there’ll be familiar faces and loads of new talent, too. We’re right in the thick of programming, so I can’t say too much about what’s confirmed, but we are leaning into what worked last year - local artists and groups went down so well, and we know they want to build on that experience. We also had work happen all over the place and not come into the city centre, so if you think ‘I will have seen it all before’, you won’t haveunless you managed to be at every single site and day of the festival last year!

Is it more of a challenge to put the event on this year without the Commonwealth Games, or is there a benefit to having less pressure?

It’s a bit of both! The speed of this year is a bit terrifying, but the familiarity is really helping those of us who were involved before. The pressure is much higher, even though our event is much smaller, as we really raised the bar last year. We’re not trying to compete or compare, as that would be silly - and disrespectful too, I think, as thousands of people came together last year to make it all happen. Instead, we’re paying homage to the Games by inviting people to come out and mark its one-year anniversary.

There will obviously be fewer tourists and international visitors this time around. Will that influence the style and content of the festival, in terms of gearing it more towards local people?

Not having a global mega event in town is one of the things that will make this year’s festival very different, but it’s not the only reason. We’re still inviting visitors from further afield and working closely with the region’s tourism & growth programme to make sure we’re part of that outward narrative this summer. The majority of the festival’s audiences last year were from the city and region, so we’re not changing the script too much in terms of audience development - we still want local people to turn up and know it’s for them, plus tourists. How important is it to continue the legacy of the Games and last year’s festival, particularly in terms of celebrating the region’s creative community?

I keep saying there’s big-L legacy and small-l legacy but all of it is important. The smaller threads of activity that go under the radar are propping up or leading to the bigger outcomes. Birmingham Festival 23 will cover both little-l and big-L legacy for the Games. It’s happening one year on as a reminder of all that goodwill and intention, and we’re platforming lots of the creatives and work that developed last year, plus loads of new stuff and younger creatives as a nod to the future. The city and region needs major platforms to express the ridiculously broad range and amount of culture and talent here. When it comes together, it’s so powerful. Are there any events you’re especially excited about?

As I said, we’re right in the thick of confirming the programme, so it’d be a bit unfair to reveal details when the artists and companies aren’t completely sure of the plans themselves! We had an amazing glut of applications for Made In Brum, and the

by Steve Adams

proposals for the Twilight Takeover were really inspiring. It’s always nerve-wracking putting a brief out to the creative sector, as you never know if it will strike the right chord with where they’re at and the current ambition in the air, but the ideas that came back were on the nose. It’s really difficult deciding what to programme for that reasonthe hardest job is turning ideas down!

And the million-dollar question - will the iconic Raging Bull be playing a part in proceedings?

Well, we already know that Raging Bull will take up a permanent home at New Street Station, and given it’s probably the Games’ biggest cultural icon, I can’t wait for it to return - it’s a feat of puppetry engineering that we don’t often get to see up close. You’ll have to wait and see what happens… but we can’t actually fit him on Centenary Square during the festival as you wouldn’t be able to see the screen! Plus, we have Perry the Bull, who can dance and smiles a lot more than his angry cousin!

Birmingham Festival 23 takes place in Centenary Square from Friday 28 July to Sunday 6 August

Theatre for younger audiences...

The Smeds And The Smoos

Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, Thurs 1 - Sun 4 June; Swan Theatre, Worcester, Wed 7 - Thurs 8 June; Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Tues 31 October - Wed 1 November

Another Tall Stories adaptation of a picture book by award-winning collaborators Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, The Smeds And The

Mog The Forgetful Cat

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, until Sun 4 June; Malvern Theatres, Sat 10 & Sun 11 June

This hour-long stage production, starring the late Judith Kerr’s much-loved creation, is presented by Bristol-based theatre group The Wardrobe Ensemble.

Suitable for children aged three-plus, the show takes audiences on a journey through one year in the life of forgetful feline Mog, whose adventures see her catching a burglar, gatecrashing a cat show, going to the vet, and eating a considerable number of eggs.

Although Kerr is perhaps best known for her 1968 children’s story, The Tiger Who Came To Tea, her character of Mog is certainly no slouch when it comes to the serious business of exciting and delighting young readers; indeed, the original Mog story, published in 1970, has never been out of print.

Smoos tells the intergalactic tale of a young Smed and a young Smoo who fall hopelessly in love. Problem is... the red-coloured Smeds and the blue-coloured Smoos never mix, causing Romeo & Juliet-style complications for the star-crossed lovers... Created for children aged three-plus, this theatrical presentation of Donaldson and Scheffler’s delightful space romance comes complete with a powerful but gently conveyed message about difference and tolerance.

Animals Unleashed

Lichfield Garrick, Sun 25 June

Combining visual effects, music and comedy, this 60-minute show features elephants from Africa, saltwater crocodiles from Australia, orangutans from Indonesia and dinosaurs from the past.

The production is presented by the Animal Guyz, who scored a big hit last year with their previous touring show, Animal Antics.

Demon Dentist

The Alexandra, Birmingham, Wed 28 June - Sat 1 July

David Walliams’ Demon Dentist tells a toothy tale of dental disaster and finds Alfie and his pal, Gabz, doing their level best to solve a disturbing mystery: Why is it that children who leave their teeth for the tooth fairy are then waking up to find horrible things under their pillow?...

Could it have anything to do with the town’s new dentist - the aptly named Miss Root?

Theatre

Light entertainment from around the region

Penn & Teller

The Civic at The Halls Wolverhampton, Thurs 1 June; The Alexandra, Birmingham, Thurs 8 & Fri 9 June

“We’ve been working together 45 years and are now coming out of the longest break we’ve ever had from working together.”

So says Penn Jillette, in talking about his Emmy award-winning magic act with Teller, who goes only by that one name. “We are so excited to start touring in the UK, playing our favourite theatres. Is this our last UK tour? We don’t know, but you’re welcome to buy tickets and hope for that, while we’ll be hoping for more final tours than the Stones and Cher put together. Wouldn’t you like to see the Stones and Cher put together?”

Titled The First Final UK Tour, the show will combine stunning magic tricks with plenty of humour and audience participation.

Send In The Clowns: Tw*ts

Old Joint Stock Theatre, Birmingham, Thurs 8 - Sat 10 June

A ‘raucous, wild and tantalising’ drag revue show paying homage to the magic and madness of musical theatre, Send In The Clowns is hosted by cabaret performer and Drag Idol UK winner Fatt Butcher. This latest show features some of the Midlands’ bestknown drag & cabaret entertainers engaging in what’s being described as ‘a celebrationcum-assassination’ of the work of Andrew Lloyd Webber.

History’s A Drag

Telford Theatre, Oakengates, Shropshire, Thurs 15 June

Drag fans can enjoy two acts for the price of one in Telford mid-month, when Vanity Milan and Elektra Fence team up to present an evening of near-the-knuckle cabaret. It isn’t the first time South London’s Vanity and Burnley’s Elektra have performed together - the pair both featured in the third season of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK. The duo are promising a show that’s ‘sexy, savage, sugar & spice and everything nice’.

Hot Brown Honey: The Remix

Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, Wed 14 - Sat 17 June

Hip-hop-infused, politically charged protest cabaret Hot Brown Honey returns with The Remix, a celebration of female power that promises its audience ‘you’ll laugh until you cry, clap until your hands bleed... and shake every part of what your mama gave you’. An impressively inventive exploration of everyday racism and sexism, the show blends burlesque, dance, circus and music to excellent effect, its unapologetically feminist manifesto seeking not only to entertain and educate but also to challenge and inspire.

Fun & Slutty With Jonathan Van Ness

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Fri 2 June

Best known for extremely funny Game Of Thrones online recaps (titled Gay Of Thrones) and from rebooted Netflix makeover show Queer Eye, Emmy-nominated Jonathan Van Ness heads for the Midlands early this month with a show that’s promising an evening of ‘queer joy and side-splitting comedy’.

Cirque The Greatest Show

Lichfield Garrick, Sat 10 June; Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Sun 25 June; Birmingham Town Hall, Sat 1 July

A coming together of musical theatre and jaw-dropping circus, this intriguing touring show features stars of the West End performing alongside ‘amazing aerialists and incredible contortionists’ as they undertake ‘thrilling feats of agility and flair’... Cirque is certainly an interesting concept, and it’s to be hoped that the performers really embrace the challenge of seamlessly combining two such hugely popular art forms.

Disney 100 The Concert

Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, Tues 6 June

Strictly star and Disney super-fan Janette Manrara hosts this centenary celebration of the much-loved Mouse House, presenting a concert that features hit songs from a wealth of classic films plus highlights from the worlds of Pixar, Star Wars and Marvel.

“It’s no secret I’m a big Disney fan,” says Janette, “so to be able to celebrate all the beautiful music of the last 100 years that Disney’s storytelling has brought us, is an absolute joy!”

Dance previews from across the region

This mouthwatering triple bill features three very different pieces: former BRB Artistic Director David Bintley’s ‘Still Life’ At The Penguin Café, George Balanchine’s Apollo and Juliano Nunes’ Interlinked.

“The programme aims to ensure that there’s something for everyone to enjoy,” says BRB Director Carlos Acosta. “In the context of this triple bill, there’s what could be seen as the beginning, which is Apollo by George Balanchine. It is a 1928 piece, but it’s still very relevant today, feels very modern, and it’s one of my favourite pieces.”

Carlos was also keen to include Nunes’ Interlinked, which formed part of the Birmingham 2022 Festival last summer.

“Interlinked shows the company very well, it’s modern but classically

Breakin’ Convention

Birmingham Hippodrome, Tues 13 & Wed 14 June based, and was a great hit with the audience. Its theme of being gender neutral is something that is so much in discussion at the moment, so it’s very inclusive from that perspective. This feels very much that it is showing the company now.”

Touring festival Breakin’ Convention is the brainchild of pioneering dancer, director & poet Jonzi D.

Uniting top international acts with local talent, it aims to enhance the profile of hiphop as an art form, presenting a mix of professional development, youth and education projects in addition to its worldrenowned events.

This year’s show features South Korea’s breakin’ crew Mover, Netherland’s influential forces of funk, Ghetto Funk Collective, and Dutch international hip-hop pole champion Yvonne Smink.

The triple bill’s finale - ‘Still Life’ At The Penguin Café - features a range of endangered creatures in different guises, including a morrisdancing flea and penguin waiters.

“Penguin Café is more relevant than ever, as it looks at climate change,” says Carlos. “It’s a very popular work, so we are delighted to be bringing it back.”

Ballet Cymru: Roald Dahl’s Little Red Riding Hood & The Three Little Pigs

New Vic Theatre, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Mon 5 June; Malvern Theatres, Thurs 8 June; The Roses, Tewkesbury, Fri 23 June

Touring to an impressive number of venues throughout the UK on an annual basis, Ballet Cymru has garnered a reputation for presenting innovative, challenging and original productions. The company was founded in 1986 and prides itself on presenting ‘a high standard of classical ballet in an unpretentious and original way’. Ballet Cymru’s latest show sees them performing two of Roald Dahl’s much-loved Revolting Rhymes - a 1982 collection of reinterpreted fairytales featuring surprise endings.

Anton & Giovanni: Him & Me

Theatre Severn, Shrewsbury, Thurs 29 & Fri 30 June; Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent, Sat 15 July; Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Sat 29 July With the next series of Strictly Come Dancing still some time away, you may be in urgent need of a summertime booster-jab to keep you going. If so, then Anton Du Beke and Giovanni Pernice’s Him & Me is most definitely the production for you. Two of the hit BBC TV series’ biggest and alltime best-loved professional dancers, Anton and Giovanni here present a show that’s being described as a true dance extravaganza. A ‘world-class’ cast of dancers and singers further add to the magic.

Film highlights in June...

Greatest Days CERT 12a

Starring

(112 mins)

Despite being executive-produced by Take That and featuring their music, Greatest Days isn’t a film about Gary Barlow and co. It’s actually a story about the fans, the power music can have over people, and - as writer Tim Firth says - how music ‘makes time travellers of us all’. For five teenage girls, their favourite boyband and the music they play are everything. Twenty-five years later, the quintet attempt to rekindle their friendship with a trip to a concert by the band they loved so dearly as teenagers. But none of the ladies’ lives have turned out quite the way they were expecting...

The film is based on the hit musical of the same name, which was originally titled The Band.

Released Fri 16 June

Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse

CERT tbc

With the voices of Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac, Jake Johnson, Issa Rae, Brian Tyree Henry

Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K Thompson

Everybody’s favourite wall-crawling webslinger makes a welcome return in another animated tale. And if it’s even half as good as its 2018 predecessor, Into The SpiderVerse, it’s going to be one hell of a film. This one finds Spidey battling to complete a mission to save every universe of SpiderPeople from the evil-doings of The Spot - a supervillain with the ability to open interdimensional portals via which he travels long distances and commits crimes. A third film in the series, Spider-Man: Beyond The Spider-Verse, is slated for release in spring of next year.

Released Fri 2 June

Transformers: Rise Of The

Beasts CERT tbc (220 mins)

With the voices of Michelle Yeoh, Pete Davidson, Ron Perlman, Peter Dinklage, John DiMaggio, Cristo Fernández

Directed by Steven Caple Jr

Having eagerly anticipated this film for more than four years, Transformers’ hugely committed fans will no doubt be beyond ecstatic to see their favourites finally return to the cinema screen.

Following on from the highly successful Bumblebee movie of 2018, Rise Of The Beasts is the seventh installment in a series which kickstarted in 2007 and has been gathering pace ever since.

Inspired, of course, by Hasbro’s Transformers toy line, the films feature a traditional story of good versus evil, as the heroic Autobots battle against the evil Decepticons.

Released Fri 8 June

The Flash CERT tbc

Starring Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Michael Shannon, Michael Keaton, Temuera Morrison, Sasha Calle Directed by Andy Muschietti

This first film about The Flash (a superfast superhero who’s been around since the 1930s) is also the 13th movie in the DC Extended Universe.

And the comic-book giants will certainly be hoping this latest release is no slouch when it comes to the serious box-office business of putting bums on seats.

Broadly speaking, DC has struggled to make the same cinematic impact as its traditional rivals, Marvel, but The Flash has impressive form when it comes to successfully accessing a significant audience - the samenamed television series ran for a total of nine seasons.

The film sees Flash travelling back in time to prevent his mother’s murder - an action that leaves him trapped in an alternate reality threatened with annihilation by the seriously unpleasant General Zod. If ever a superhero needed to move fast...

Released Fri 16 June

Asteroid City CERT

tbc

Starring Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston Directed by Wes Anderson

Director Wes Anderson’s fertile imagination is firing on all cylinders in this eagerly anticipated sci-fi rom-com. A star-studded story about stargazers, the film is set in a fictional desert town in 1955, where students and parents come together for an annual junior stargazer/space cadet convention. Rest, recreation, scholarly competition and an appreciation of ‘the clear skies above’ all feature on the convention’s agenda. But thanks to a series of profoundly affecting ‘unspecified events’, not everything goes according to plan...

Released Fri 23 June

Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny

CERT tbc (142 mins)

Starring Harrison Ford, Mads Mikkelsen, Boyd Holbrook, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies Directed by James Mangold

No Hard Feelings CERT

tbc

Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Morales, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Matthew Broderick, Laura Benanti, Danielia Maximillian

Directed by Gene Stupnitsky

Jennifer Lawrence produces as well as stars in this coming-of-age sex comedy, taking the lead role of Maddie, an Uber driver facing bankruptcy when her car is repossessed. Needing to sort out her life fast, she finds herself taking on an unusual job - working for a couple who want her to help their introverted son enjoy the pleasures of adult life by ‘dating his brains out’. In exchange for making a man of him, she will receive a Buick Regal. Maddie’s expecting the gig to be a walk in the park, but much to her surprise she soon discovers that the painfully awkward Percy is no sure thing...

Released Fri 23 June

Age has not withered him... Or at least that’s what Harrison Ford fans will be hoping is the case as he returns, in his 81st year, to the role of whip-wielding actionadventurer Indiana Jones.

This is the fifth Indy film, with Harrison declaring that it will also be his final outing in the role. As such, he’ll no doubt be hoping to make a fond farewell with all guns blazing. With a solid supporting cast giving it their all, and an imaginative storyline that brings together NASA and Nazis, there’s plenty of reason to think this latest entry in the franchise will be a summer blockbuster well worth catching.

Released Fri 30 June

The More Things Change...

Wolverhampton Art Gallery, until Sun 9 July

More than 30 artworks - including paintings, works on paper, mixed media, sculpture and film - are here presented in celebration of a very special collective of artists.

The More Things Change... tells the story of the student-inspired Blk Art Group, who hosted the First National Convention of Black Art at Wolverhampton Polytechnic in 1982 and were instrumental in shaping the British Black Arts Movement. The show is accompanied by a public programme and symposia, which explores the Group’s relationship to the wider movement.

“The Blk Art Group was relatively short-lived,” recalls one of its members, Keith Piper, in an article which he originally wrote for Frieze magazine. “By 1984, its momentum had dissipated and its members had become increasingly engaged in solo projects and broader survey exhibitions.

“Its legacy remains significant largely because of the network of artists who converged in Wolverhampton in October 1982, and their wider impact on the Black Arts Movement in general, and Black Women’s practices in particular, which have gone on to so radically shape contemporary art in the UK and beyond.”

Sensing Naples

Compton Verney, Warwickshire, until Sun 31 December

Historic works from Compton Verney’s Naples Collection are rehung and reimagined in this interactive exhibition, which aims to bring to life the sights, smells, sounds, tastes and sensations experienced by those who visit the famous Italian city.

Watershed

Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham, Thurs 29 June - Sun 5 November

The relationship between Birmingham and Elan Valley in Wales, which has provided the second city with water since the early 20th century, comes under consideration in this group exhibition. The show aims to explore the cultural and social connections between the two locations, in the process homing in on

The show comes complete with two new contemporary sculptures. Created by DYSPLA - an award-winning, neurodivergent-led arts studio - and Aaron McPeake - an artist who makes works that deal with his own experience of sight loss - the sculptures have been commissioned in partnership with Unlimited, an organisation that supports, funds and promotes new work by disabled artists.

Mastering The Market

The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham, Sat 17 June - Sun 24 September

Now here’s an exhibition that’s well worth catching - a dazzling selection of Dutch and Flemish 17th-century masterpieces which usually reside in Woburn Abbey.

Featuring a dozen Old Master paintings, Mastering The Market focuses on the themes of patronage and collecting.

The artworks are visiting Birmingham while the Abbey is undergoing an extensive refurbishment. Commenting on the exhibition, Robert Wenley, Barber Institute Deputy Director, Research and Collections, said: “Mastering The Market will present the public with the rare opportunity to view these works up close in a gallery setting, and facilitate an appreciation of the ways in which patronage and collecting reflected and contributed to a dynamic period of European history.”

The Reason For Painting

Mead Gallery, Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, until Sun 25 June their distinctive landscapes and the part that people play in nature’s balance.

Warwick Arts Centre’s The Reason For Painting aims to provide visitors with a brief but welcome escape from ‘the social and economic crisis we are living in today’.

Among the artists whose work is featured in the show is Birmingham-based Rowena Harris. Rowena’s art explores parallels between the way that Elan Valley has managed water’s energy ‘as a design for health for Birmingham’, and the way that bodies with energy-limiting disabilities also manage energy ‘as a method for health’.

The exhibition features works which share the contributing artists’ experiences of experimenting with colour, mark and form.

The artists’ aim is to create ‘moments of joy’ through their practice, in the process redefining the meaning of ‘abstract’.

As part of the exhibition, an active space has been made available, in which visitors can respond to the artworks on display and discover their own reasons for painting. The space is fully equipped with a range of materials and resources, including paint, brushes and paper.

Events previews from around the region Events

The Big Bang Fair

NEC, Birmingham, Wed 21 - Fri 23 June

With the support of over 100 organisations, The Big Bang Fair is an annual celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) for 10 to 13-year-olds.

The event offers a combination of theatre shows, interactive exhibits and careers information, along the way providing young people with the chance to meet hundreds of scientists and engineers.

Children younger or older than the show’s key audience can attend the after-hours Big Bang Fair Unlocked session on Wednesday 21 June, running from 4.30pm to 7.30pm.

BBC Good Food Show Summer

NEC, Birmingham, Thurs 15 - Sun 18 June

Boasting tasty food, mouthwatering recipes, and in-the-kitchen entertainment served up by some of the nation’s most celebrated chefs, the summer edition of the BBC Good Food Show makes a welcome return midmonth.

TV chefs including James Martin (pictured), Ainsley Harriott and Nadiya Hussain will be

BBC Gardeners’ World Live

NEC, Birmingham, Thurs 15 - Sun 18 June sharing their culinary skills and cooking live on stage.

Green-fingered visitors to BBC Gardeners’ World Live will, as usual, find plenty to delight them.

As well as taking ideas and inspiration from the show gardens and displays, attendees can also pick up tips and tricks from TV gardeners including Monty Don, Frances Tophill and Alan Titchmarsh.

Meanwhile, the Floral Marquee and Plant Village will have a vast array of top-quality nurseries from which to make purchases for your next gardening project.

The show’s ever-popular shopping village returns too, providing visitors with plenty of opportunity to ‘taste, try and buy’ a wide range of delicious produce from an impressive selection of food & drink suppliers.

The Creative Craft Show

NEC, Birmingham, Fri 23 - Sun 25 June

A dream for knitting, cross stitching, paper crafting, jewellery & dressmaking enthusiasts, the Creative Craft Show boasts more than 100 stalls and offers the very latest in supplies and innovative ideas. As well as getting their hands on all sorts of goodies at the event - from kits, charts and patterns, to fabrics, yarns, threads and buttons - crafters can also seek out advice from industry experts and take part in a selection of interactive workshops being held across the weekend.

National Cycling Show

NEC, Birmingham, Sat 17 & Sun 18 June

Described as an ‘immersive retail experience’, the National Cycling Show is a one-stop shop for all your cycling needs. The event brings together experts from across the industry, with this year’s special guests including Sir Chris Hoy, Team GB’s Ed Clancy OBE, Lizzie Deignan MBE, and pro BMX athlete Kriss Kyle.

Other show highlights include a meet & greet zone, fusion freestyle performances by Fusion Extreme, The Bike Clinic and a Wheels For All hub covering inclusivity and accessibility.

Events previews from around the region Events

Lego City: City Of Champions

Legoland Discovery Centre Birmingham, until Sun 9 July

The Lego City Minifigure team - Ricky Rocket Racer, Mech-Max, Go-To Gary and Fearless Fi - have taken over Legoland Discovery Centre to set epic missions for little ones and their families to complete.

Testing your skills with each mission, you will rescue animals, find messages in the street art and have a go at brick-building games, in the process earning an exclusive limited-edition card and sticker.

For £5 per person, there will also be the chance to build your own police car or fire engine in the on-site creative workshop.

Aethelfest: Tamworth’s Annual Saxon Festival

Tamworth Castle, Sat 10 - Sun 11 June

This annual living-history event celebrates Tamworth’s rich history - the town was the capital of the Kingdom of Mercia during the Saxon period - and features a variety of attractions and activities for families to enjoy.

Highlights across the two days include an outdoor Saxon encampment with traditional

The World of Park & Leisure Homes Show

NAEC Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, Fri 9 - Sun 11 June crafts, a chance to test your skills in sword school, contributions by historians and authors, and an opportunity to indulge in a spot of mead tasting. Visitors can also check out the castle’s Saxon exhibition and Staffordshire Hoard collection.

As the biggest event of its kind in the UK, The World of Park & Leisure Homes Show provides a fantastic opportunity to discover and consider a leisure lifestyle.

Visitors can view approximately 40 state-ofthe-art leisure lodges and residential park homes, check out the latest designs and innovations, and discover affordable luxury. There’s also the chance to pick up some expert advice and find out more from people already enjoying the leisure lifestyle.

Weston Park Air Show International

Weston Park, Shropshire, Fri 16 - Sun 18 June

Model and full-sized aircraft taking to the skies, off-road and circuit model-car racing, model boats and helicopters, trade stands, food & drink stalls and a craft fair all feature among the attractions at this three-day show. Youngsters are catered for too, courtesy of a funfair, and there’s live music to enjoy in the evenings.

Pyrotechnics, gliders and fireworks light up the sky on the Saturday night.

The Royal Three Counties Show

Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Fri 16 - Sun 18 June

Hailed as one of the UK’s biggest celebrations of the great British countryside, the Royal Three Counties Show offers three days of animal encounters, interesting displays and expert agricultural insights.

TV presenter and Cotswold farming royalty Adam Henson returns as show ambassador in the Farming Village, where more than 6,000 animals will feature.

Other highlights include The Future of Farming Zone, hosting a line-up of informative talks and Q&A sessions. The show also features the Food & Drink Theatre, the Equine Village, the all-new Stable Yard, the Countryside Arena and the Fur, Feather & Farm area.

Events previews from around the region Events

Planetarium Lates: Particle/Wave

Thinktank Birmingham Science Museum, Thurs 15 June

Particle/Wave is a special adults-only planetarium show telling the story of gravitational waves.

The immersive multimedia experience is presented through the collaboration of poets, musicians and sound & video artists alongside renowned scientists.

RAF Cosford Air Show

RAF Museum Midlands, Cosford, Sun 11 June

Step Back To The 1940s

Severn Valley Railway, Bewdley, Nr Kidderminster, Sat 24 & Sun 25 and Sat 1 & Sun 2 July

A taste of all things vintage comes to the Severn Valley Railway this month, as the 16mile line and all of its stations host a festival of 1940s-themed fun.

Taking place across two weekends, the event features an array of attractions and entertainment, including 1940s singers & dancers, a wartime wedding and jitterbug sessions. There’s even the chance to hear a rousing speech by Winston Churchill! Vintage traders will be selling their wares at

Sharklife

National SEA LIFE Birmingham, until Sun 4 June

Sharklife provides families with the opportunity to get up close and personal with SEA LIFE’s fin-tastic Black Tip Reef Sharks.

The event also includes the chance to learn more about the species from the venue’s resident marine biologist.

A special themed Sharklife trail around the aquarium further adds to the fun.

The Engine House at Highley, with the June weekend seeing a replica Spitfire plane going on display outside the venue, along with a Merlin engine. During the July weekend, this space will be taken up by a range of vintage fairground games such as swing boats, hook-a-duck and tin can alley. Big Band shows take place at Kidderminster station on the Saturday evening of both weekends.

MotoFest: Coventry Concours

Coventry Cathedral Ruins, Sat 3 & Sun 4 June MotoFest’s annual Coventry Concours event returns to the Cathedral Ruins this month and celebrates the life of Queen Elizabeth II. The free-to-attend weekend features cars and motorcycles from the 1950s through to the present day and boasts a strong Coventry theme. The vehicle line-up includes manufacturer models from Jaguar, Daimler, Standard, Triumph, Rootes Group and Armstrong Sideley.

The RAF Cosford Air Show returns this month with an action-packed flying display, featuring powerful demonstrations of modern military aircraft from the Royal Air Force and international military partners, including the Supermarine Spitfire IX, RAF Falcons and the ever-popular Red Arrows. On-the-ground entertainment comes in the form of, among other attractions, static displays of aircraft, a Vintage Village with reenactors, and STEM hangars offering family-friendly interactive activities.

Potfest By The Lake

Compton Verney, Warwickshire, Fri 23 - Sun 25 June

An artisan ceramics market, showcasing the work of 80 of the UK’s finest ceramics makers, Potfest returns to Compton Verney for a third year and has become a highlight in every potter’s calendar. Work by local and continental makers also features.