Diwali Outdoor Arts Events
A selection of exciting Diwali events celebrating the Festival of Lights this weekend…
This evening in Basingstoke head to DEEPALI: Light It Up for a beautiful Diwali parade filled with lanterns, LED umbrellas, dhol players, dancers, and musicians. Then head to the Basingstoke Amphitheatre for a series of free performances by local groups, schools, and international artists, including the premiere of Kala The Arts Company’s new work Footnotes.
In Coventry on Sunday two flotillas of twinkling bikes playing an ambient soundscape will be passing through the streets of Longford and Cheylesmore converging at the Abundance of Light festival in Foleshill marking Diwali. At dusk Lullaby by Luke Jerram, a surround sound illuminated artwork playing a soundscape by Dan Jones and Guy Hughes, will convoy through residential streets, arriving to Foleshill for Diwali. From 5pm Abundance will fill the streets of Foleshill with light, sound, and colour, in a free, family-friendly event celebrating light, hope and freedom. Enjoy an array of exciting performances including dance routines choreographed by Kesha Raithatha (Associate Artistic Director, Aakash Odedra), fire walkabout show by Flame Oz, walkabout performance by Kitsch & Sync, Coventry-based international dhol drummer Parv Kaur with Eternal Taal, community-led lantern parade led by Coventry South Asian artists, light-up umbrellas with Cirque Bijou, and a light projection at St Paul’s Church.
The Greater Manchester Diwali 2021 celebrations continue online across the weekend, with a series of exciting online events and a diverse cultural programme of live music and dance performances by over 50 artists from across the UK. Don’t miss Cast the Light tomorrow evening, an ambitious piece of storytelling created and produced by Walk the Plank, in association with Bolton Hindu Forum, Indian Association Oldham, Shree Bharatiya Mandal, Ashton, and The Met (Bury).
Tomorrow Brent, Wembley, and Harrow are coming together to celebrate Diwali in Byron Park with the Diwali Fireworks Show. Head along for dancing, music, street food, Diwali art, henna and hand art, funfair, and of course the spectacular fireworks show! Nutkhut have been celebrating Diwali across the country this week, with their illuminated sculptural lotus flower installation. Catch them at The Broadway in Bradford this weekend. In Canary Wharf this weekend the Jubilee Park fountains will host a striking floating flower installation until Sunday, lit from 5pm to 11pm to celebrate the Festival of Lights.
Also this weekend:
The National Circus Festival of Ireland runs across the weekend in Tralee, with highlights including Sinergia 3.0 by Nueveuno Circo, the Circus Sideshow Festival Club, Children’s Circus Workshop, Wes Peden with Rollercoaster: Ultra-modern pop-punk juggling, Company Maleta with Tunnel, the Festival Parade, A Matter of Time by Teatime Company, the Renegade Stage, and Circus Siamsa by Fanzini Productions, featuring Snatch Circus, Seve Feathers, Grant Goldie, Jessica Doolin – The Hooping Nomad, Brian Daly, SoKi Acrobatics and Angelique Ross.
Light Up Lancaster returns today! Head to Lancaster city centre and catch free performances dotted amongst squares and well-known buildings, and experience captivating light projects, performances, music, dance, film, and fireworks. See The Hourglass by Emergency Exit Arts, Polar by Gemma Wood, Luminous Gardens by Liverpool Lantern Company, Luma by Air Giants, Digital Playground by Little Lost Robot, and many more! Also join in with the Art Fair, which will bring the city centre alive with a wonderland of arts activities for families to experience, including paper lantern-making, Islamic paper art, henna art, rangoli, ebru marbling, terracotta diya decoration, and more.
Head to Bradford City Centre tonight and tomorrow for Bradford is #Lit, a district-wide festival of light that will bring Bradford to life with a bespoke programme of 25 unique light installations. Highlights include Borealis by Dan Acher, Future Cargo by Requardt & Rosenberg, When the Clocks Go Back, Count Sheep by Illuminos, and Mythical Beasts by Cecil Green Arts.
Christmas is here! This Saturday marks the beginning of Christmas at Longleat, transforming Longleat into a magical land full of festive cheer. Journey through a mesmerising tunnel of light and sound, marvel at the magnificent musical display and surround yourself by over 100 warmly lit Christmas trees, explore the Wonderland Walk through Jungle Kingdom and Monkey Temple, wander through the Hedge Maze, listen to carols in the Main Square, and experience The Flight Before Christmas with the owls in The Longhouse.
Urban Astronaut by Highly Sprung soars into Bell Square, Hounslow tomorrow afternoon. Combining stunning design, unseen before aerial performance (using a unique travelling flying machine that suspends the performer 20ft in the air) with simple story telling and moving dance performance, Urban Astronaut travels through towns and cities searching for a solution to the environmental disaster that is present in our near future.
Join Creative Barking and Dagenham on Sunday for the Winter Lantern Parade and Fireworks Finale, an unforgettable night featuring hundreds of lanterns, dynamic drumming and Dundu – the Giants of Light. Together with an array of illuminated Big Heads representing local heroes, Dundu will lead the parade and perform a special version of their Sharing the Light show in Valence Park.
There’s lots of fun to be had at Sedgemoor Masquerade Week, presented by Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival and Highbridge and Burnham-on-Sea Carnival. Don’t miss the fireworks displays, tonight at St Matthews Field, Bridgwater, and on Sunday at The Esplanade, Burnham-on-Sea, and the two fabulous walking costume masquerade parades tomorrow in Bridgwater, and on Monday in Burnham-on-Sea.
Check out Random String: The Canal Networked, produced by Ludic Rooms in partnership with Coventry City of Culture Trust. Bringing together artists, technologists and local people, Random String aims to encourage those living and working along the canal corridor to explore their connection to this often forgotten urban green space. Through workshops, residencies and commissioning and using the canal’s history and future as a springboard for ideas, Random String will show how combining art and technology can deepen our engagement with the natural world. The culmination of the project will be celebrated at ‘Random String 2021’ a four-day festival held in Coventry’s historic Canal Basin and along the waterway. The night time waterside festival will bring light, music, installations and projections to the canal as well as performances, workshops and online experiments, all realised with the support of renowned lighting and projection designer, Arnim Freiss.
It’s your last chance to experience Fire on the Water in Great Yarmouth this weekend, an immersive experience with dramatic outdoor arts, hypnotic water projections and shining installations, from the producers of the Out There Festival and Great Yarmouth Borough Council.
The amazing Wondrous Woods is lighting up the majestic grounds of Hopetoun House until 14 Nov. For the second year running the grounds are being extensively lit up to create a magical, mystical woodland journey, so grab your coats and scarves and take all the family along.
Immersive yourself in a mind-boggling bio-hazardous adventure to find the source of the toxic gloop engulfing the thriving alternate reality of Glasglopolis in GlasGLOW this weekend. Explore Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens in a safe outdoor environment, a 60 minute route and gourmet street food village & bar.
