In Attractions, Food & Drink, summer, summer holidays, outdoor, nature, See & Do

It’s one of the busiest times of the year and there is so much happening this blog just scratches the surface on the range of great events taking place this August.

ATTRACTIONS

Now open for the summer it’s everyone’s favourite way to get lost in the Leicestershire countryside. Covering 8 acres and with 3 miles of pathways, Wistow Maze has an Olympic theme this year and will be open daily until September!

Join the Discovery team at the National Space Centre this summer for some stone cold rockin’ activities and find out why space ‘rocks’. Understand more about what's 'out there', from Moons to meteorites and find out about some of the exciting Space missions to find them.

Twycross Zoo has a bricktacular summer in store. Alongside all of their amazing animals, from Tigers and Snow Leopards to all four great apes, you can see 40 amazing Lego recreations of some of their most popular residents. That’s alongside the new and improved Gruffalo Discovery Land. And when you pay for a day, your ticket is valid for 12 whole months!

BIG SUMMER EVENTS

Some of the biggest stars of the 80s and 90s are coming to Leicestershire Cricket Club on the 1 and 2 August. First up on the Friday you can catch Boyzlife, B*Witched and Five. Then on Saturday night, experience sets by Go West, Paul Young, Toyah, Haircut 100 and China Crisis!

An Indian Summer returns to the Cultural Quarter from 9-11 August with an electric fusion of South Asian arts, creativity and culture. Bollywood blockbuster outdoor cinema on Jubilee Square, festival day at the Curve with creative workshops, storytelling, wellbeing zone, outdoor street cricket, spoken word, sizzling street food from Bangladesh and a festival after party. Not to mention welcome world class music from Abi Sampa, Rushil Ranjan and Arun Ghosh.

The South Asian theme continues as Leicester Mela Festival returns to Abbey Park on 17 & 18 August for the first time in 20 years! The two day celebration of authentic Indian arts, culture and entertainment features headline performances from Apache Indian, Sardara Gill (Apna Sangeet), Metz N Trix and DJ Lyan.

That same weekend it’s slightly more sedate and historic as Bosworth Medieval Festival comes to the battlefield. With living history displays, author talks, activities for the kids and battle re-enactments by the combined forces of the Wars of the Roses Federation, there’s loads on offer!

Over near Market Harborough on 17 & 18 August the Marston Steam and Vintage Show has steam engines, tractors, vintage cars and motorbikes, fun fair, beer tent and lots more. Plus, it’s being opened on the Saturday by Gerald and Alan the building from Clarkson’s Farm!

On the 18 August one of the biggest car shows of the summer comes to Leicester Racecourse with vintage, classic and modern cars on display and a special VIP supercar area hosted by YouTube superstar Yiannimize.

A different kind of motor show comes with the Summer Family Fun Day at Abbey Pumping Station on the 18 August, recreating the atmosphere of a village Gala Day with vintage vehicles on display, one of the majestic beam engines in full steam and coal-fired chips freshly made from their very own vintage chip van.

It’s back to the 1940s for the final weekend in August with the UK’s biggest World War II recreation event as The Victory Show returns for its annual weekend at Cosby. Expect pitched tank battles, classic WWII aircraft, reenactment camps, trading stalls and much more.

Belvoir Castle has two special weekend events this month. On Sunday 25 and Bank Holiday Monday 26 August journey back to the Regency period and the Napoleonic battles of 1803-1815. Then on the 31 August and 1 September the Castle is all in bloom for the annual Flower and Garden Show.

The summer concludes with the biggest most colourful party in Leicester as Leicester Pride welcomes more than 10,000 people to Abbey Park. With a parade winding its way from Curve at noon on the 31 August, the real party begins at 1pm in the park.

TASTE THE PLACE

The Wigston Deli is one of our favourite local success stories, featured in our Taste the Place campaign and at the heart of its community. And on the 3 August they’ll be holding a special Community BBQ day featuring local producers from across Leicestershire!

Foodies rejoice as the brand new Leicester Food Festival supported by Taste the Place comes to Abbey Park on the 10 and 11 August. Great local food producers rub shoulders with live music and loads of entertainment. Tickets are still available so make sure you get yours soon!

Concluding the summer (and happening alongside Pride), Leicester’s best craft beer festival Brew Beat is happening from the 30 August to 1 September. Live music, great beer (plus other alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks) and fantastic food will be flowing from Jubilee Square.

Stoughton Grange is also a mainstay of our Taste the Place campaign and this summer they have a new initiative, a pop-up Pub in the Woods! Running every Saturday until the 31 August, enjoy a BBQ, smoked burgers, craft beer, real ale, gins and more as you relax among the trees!

ON STAGE (and outside!)

A roarsome interactive show for the whole family, Dinosaur World Live comes to Curve from 6-8 August. Meet a host of impressive creatures, including every child's favourite flesh-eating giant, the Tyrannosaurus Rex, a Triceratops, Giraffatitan, Microraptor and Segnosaurus! Also at Curve from 12-17 August the musical adaptation of hit 80s movie An Officer and a Gentleman will lift you up where you belong with a smash-hit selection of 80s tunes.

It's the season for outdoor theatre and you can join Sherlock Holmes in his hunt for The Hound of the Baskervilles at the 1620s House on the 14 August. De Montfort Hall is also joining the outdoor theatre scene and in their beautiful gardens you can experience the music and wordplay of Gilbert and Sullivan with a production of The Gondoliers on the 16 August, then on the 17 August it’s one for the kids as Dr Doolittle goes on a magical adventure as he discovers the wonderful power of being able to talk to the animals.

EXHIBITIONS AND OPEN EVENTS

Two Queens is one of the best kept secrets of Leicester’s Cultural Quarter, so this summer is high time to give them a visit and see their new exhibition Sound Solid Liquid Light. This new collaboration and installation by SJ Blackmore, Naomi Frears, Leila Galloway and Alice Mahoney, incorporates sculpture, film and sound to create an immersive and enveloping experience. Running until 10 August.

Honeycraft are offering you the chance to step inside the world of bees and see what makes them some important to our ecosystems with their regular Meet the Bees sessions at Bradgate Park. The sessions are held on Sundays throughout August.

The diesel driven Narrow Gauge Railway at Abbey Pumping Station is a fantastic way to round off a trip to this museum which explores Leicester’s industrial history. Rides on the train cost only 50p and the museum is free, so really you have no excuse! Running on the 6, 13 and 20 August.

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1 Comments

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  1. Michael
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