WITH STROM EUNICE APPROACHING, THERE ARE SOME CHANGES TO THIS WEEKEND’S EVENTS. PLEASE CHECK BEFORE SETTING OUT AND STAY SAFE.
This half term sees music festival Sounds from the Other City join forces with Walk the Plank and the BBC Philharmonic to bring a touring programme of music, colour and vitality onto the high streets of Salford. Each day from 23-26 Feb the Salford High Streets Tour will roll into locations across the city with a programme of live music, featuring a pop-up DJ trailer with a selection of DJs and mcs, and live performances including multi-genre buskers and a brass trio.
As part of the Mayor of London’s #LetsDoLondon campaign, City Lights brings five illuminated installations to the City of London until 20 Feb and Pop-up London returns for another round. Running from 17-20 Feb, Pop-up London will feature free outdoor performances from BollyRed Dance Company, Traceworks Dance, Levantes Dance Theatre, Metronomes Steel Orchestra, PARC, ArtPerUK, Puppets with Guts, Scanner’s Inc, Holly Khan and Avante Gardening. NB: EVENTS CANCELLED FOR FRIDAY NIGHT (18 FEB).
Elsewhere in London, The Light Festival at Battersea Power Station runs until 27 Feb, with six spectacular installations including, Run Beyond by Angelo Bonello, Digital Origami Tigers by LAVA, Antenna Sud by Michela Bonzi, Greenhouse by Victor Engbers, Picto Sender Machine by Felipe Prado, and Eternal Sundown by Mads Vegas.
Experience Southend in a new light with LuminoCity, where nine large-scale light installations from around the world are set to transform Southend over four dazzling nights. A fabulous free event for all this February Half Term from 16-19 Feb. NB: FRIDAY EVENTS HAVE BEEN CANCELLED (18 FEB).
From tomorrow streets across Coventry and Warwickshire will once again light up their front windows and gardens and become beautiful night-time walking trails for Window Wonderland 2022.
GLOW in the Park will add some sparkle to February as Grove Park in Weston-super-Mare is transformed into a wondrous winter wonderland filled with glittering light installations and activities, running 17-19 Feb in partnership with Culture Weston and Weston Town Council. Featuring Arcadia’s Flaming Lampposts, Thingumajig Theatre’s Ghost Caribou, Laser Sky, Disco Ball Bandstand, Tree of Life lit up by pedal power, Swing Tree, the UK’s largest bug hotel with willow insects installation, community lantern trail, poetry soundscape projections, choral music, unexpected theatrical encounters including Weston’s ‘From the Mud’ and more!
Also running 17-19 Feb, Love Light Norwich returns with stunning new installations, projections, and performances, for three days of exciting free experiences. Themed around love and belonging, this year’s festival includes The Bicycle Ballet Co, Pif Paf, Tim Davis, Kate Munro, Nick Azidis, Studio Vertigo, Amber Lights, Hamilton Ice Sculptors, Illuminos, Norwich Puppet Theatre, and many more. NB: FRIDAY NIGHT HAS BEEN CANCELLED (18 FEB).
Headed over to the west country, Bristol Light Festival returns from 1-6 Mar to fill the city with light and colour. It will feature six world premier works, brand new for Bristol, alongside some of the best of the UK’s talent, all making their Bristol debut at carefully selected locations across the city centre.
See Club Supreme by Ramshacklicious, a performance art roadshow installation celebrating the Supreme You, presented by Theatre Orchard, at The Sovereign Centre, Weston-super-Mare on 18-20 Feb. As we enter 2022 and the traditional time of New Year resolutions, Ramshacklicious is inviting people in the local community to join them on a playful exploration to re-invent themselves and discover what being ‘Supreme’ means to them.
Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council, Solihull BID and Parrabbola present the WH Auden Festival from 18-21 Feb. The new festival will explore Solihull’s important connection with the poet, WH Auden, who spent the formative years of his life in the town, with immersive street theatre performances, live poetry readings, film screenings, talks, music performances, a vintage market and a museum-style Auden installation as well as participatory activity for all.
The Hebridean Dark Skies Festival’s February 2022 programme runs until 25 Feb, including live music, film, visual art, theatre, astronomy talks, and stargazing. Including The Edge of The Sky | Oir Nan Speur, a new, bilingual theatre adaptation of Roberto Trotta’s internationally acclaimed book, created by sruth-mara. Spectacle of Light returns to Haughley Park with a magical new illuminated trail and exciting installations creating a beautiful after-dark adventure. Discover the amazing Carpet of Colour and the flickering Field of Fire, walk through the Kaleidoscope, gaze at the Mirror balls, Moroccan lanterns and more, running until 27 Feb.
Don’t miss Ignite: Fire & Fantasy at Tyntesfield, running until 27 Feb, an enchanting trail of light, lanterns, fantasy and fire in the garden at the National Trust’s Tyntesfield. You can also see Ignite: Fire & Fantasy at Nymans in West Sussex until 6 Mar, the perfect setting for this new, after-dark illuminated trail, where you wander between flickering flames and majestic trees from one amazing space to another. The little ones can explore the grounds of Stroud’s Museum in the Park, where Treasure Hunters are invited to come on an Audio Adventure.
A series of spellbinding outdoor events, blending spectacular projection, fire and music, inspired by local stories and landscapes from across Newcastle, Northumberland and North Tyneside are planned for 18 Feb-13 Mar. North of the Tyne, Under the Stars will be heading to Blyth and North Shields on 18-19 Feb, Wallsend and Byker on 25-26 Feb, Fenham and Hexham on 4-5 Mar, and Newcastle City Centre for the Festival Finale on 10-13 Mar. NB: FRIDAY NIGHT EVENTS CANCELLED (18 FEB).
Certain Blacks presents Shipbuilding Festival from 18-27 Feb, the final presentation in a year-long programme that has looked at what it means to be British in the 21st Century. The festival will feature Alleyne Dance with A Night’s Game, Richard Stamp with DICK – One Man in 100,000, Abstract Benna EP launch OUT OF DARKNESS, and Black Sheep by Livia Kojo Alour (formally MisSa Blue).
Head to the Coventry Cathedral ruins from 19-26 Feb to experience Where There Is Light, an immersive sound and light installation sharing the voices and stories of sanctuary seeking communities from across the country. It asks questions about where we find light in our lives, in ourselves, in others and in the world around us. Led by art collectives Squidsoup and ArtReach. NB: OPENING DELAYED UNTIL 22 FEB.
The Arches Worcester Festivals are creating a playground in the streets of Worcester for Light Night Worcester 2022. Immersive and interactive artworks alongside intriguing and playful performances will bring light, joy and fun to 23 and 24 Feb. See Submergence by Squidsoup, Neon Dogs by Deepa Mann-Kler, The Lips by Puppets with Guts, Luma by Air Giants, Spin Me A Yarn by Studio Vertigo, The DJukebox, and the Silent Disco.
Coming up in 2022…
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, here’s a glance at some of the confirmed outdoor arts events and festivals to look forward to:
30 Apr-1 May Devizes Street Festival
30 Apr Now Northwich, Cheshire
7 May-29 May Brighton Festival
13 May-29 May Norfolk and Norwich Festival
27 May-12 Jun Bath Fringe Festival
27 May-18 Jun Salisbury International Arts Festival
5 Jun Platinum Jubilee Pageant, London
10 Jun-26 Jun Wandsworth Arts Fringe
23 Jun-10 Jul LIFT, London
24 Jun-10 Jul Basingstoke Festival, Basingstoke
1 Jul-3 Jul Hat Fair, Winchester
1 Jul-3 Jul Timber, Feanedock, the National Forest, Leicestershire
22 Jul-24 Jul Liberty Festival, Lewisham
28 Jul-31 Jul Merchant City Festival, Glasgow
29 Jul-31 Jul Spraoi Festival, Waterford, Ireland
4 Aug-7 Aug Stockton International Riverside Festival
10 Aug-14 Aug Boomtown Fair, Hampshire
18 Aug-21 Aug Green Man Festival, Brecon Beacons, Wales
19 Aug-21 Aug Just So Festival, Rode Hall, Cheshire
26 Aug-11 Sep Greenwich+Docklands International Festival
26 Aug-4 Sep Freedom Festival, Hull
27 Aug-28 Aug Birmingham Mela
8 Sep-11 Sep FiraTàrrega, Spain
16-18 Sep Lancashire Encounter
16 Sep-18 Sep Out There Festival, Great Yarmouth
24 Sep-25 Sep Festival of Thrift
24 Sep-26 Sep Derby Festé
30 Sep-2 Oct Arts by the Sea, Bournemouth
There are many more listings on our listing pages: OAUK Festival & Performance Listings
