Winchester | 30 Jun-1 Jul | Hat Fair is the UK’s longest-running Outdoor Arts festival. See the headline show Ancient Futures by Upswing and Unlimited Theatre – as well as Herbie Treehead, Sonia Sabri Company, Hands Down Circus, Richard Kimberley, Ghetto Fabulous, Thingumajig Theatre, Jon Hicks, Seve Feathers, Angie Mack, Fatt Projects, The Working Boy’s Club, The Trick Brothers, Winchester Playmakers and the new Co-Chair of OAUK, Lorna Rees will be there in the guise of The High Priestess of Pop! Come and see us: OAUK presents a free Funding Focus event in the Winchester Guildhall on Saturday morning (breakfast included) to help you all with your funding questions…

Coventry | 30 Jun-2 Jul | Godiva Festival offers incredible live music from top-name acts and local artists, as well as creative and interactive family-friendly entertainment. Imagineer’s giant Godiva puppet makes her first-ever visit to the Godiva Festival and it’s a packed weekend for Ancient Futures by Upswing and Unlimited Theatre (direct from Winchester) plus performances from Darryl J Carrington, Jones & Barnard and more.

Cheadle | 30 Jun-2 Jul | Back in 2016 the first Cheadle Carnival Committee for around 30 years was created. Every member had the same vision – to bring back what was once the highlight of the year for the community. Don’t miss the ‘Kings and Queens’ carnival parade on Saturday.

Hampshire | 30 Jun-9 Jul | The theme for this year’s Sway Carnival is Up & Beyond, so think of all those things you might find in the sky or space when creating your scarecrows, decorating your garden or dressing up for the Carnival Procession.

London | 30 Jun & 14 Jul | Head over to Greenwich Park after school or work for Summer Sessions. A free skate event from Greenwich Dance curated with support from Frankie J and Vibes On Vibes:

  • 30 Jun | Skate Jam and Osian Meilir‘s Welsh folk-dancing and queer nightlife-inspired show QUERIN.
  • 7 Jul | Skate Jam and Firefly Fitness UK, who create empowering dance workshops for women.
  • 14 Jul | Skate Jam and Simple Cypher, who will perform their breathtaking cyr wheel show – Roll Play.

Derby | 1 Jul | Celebrating 25 years of Déda at Chapel Street at the Altered Streets – Déda Dance Party! This HUGE party has circus and acrobatics with Stones and Water by Natalie Reckert and a physical theatre family show Bull and the Moon by DeNada Dance Theatre.

Hounslow | 1 Jul | Taroo at Bell Square London is a parkour and circus comedy show with a fusion of acrobatics, Chinese pole and urban street moves performed by Said Mouhssine (Company Zid) as a part of Shubbak Festival 2023. This very special version of Taroo has been developed in partnership with Crying Out Loud and the Babylon Migrants Project and will be performed in multiple public squares and neighbourhoods in London and beyond.

East London | 1 Jul | The Great Get Together is a free community event in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. This fun-filled day will showcase the London School of Samba and traditional Brazilian carnival parade, X7eaven by X7 Productions, hip-hop theatre with Breakin’ Convention and African Drumming by Mbilla Arts.

London | 1 Jul | Veteran shame-müngers Duckie invite you to the Duckie Summer Fete, a genteel picnic in the City of London. It’s a community fair for gay old stagers, sensitive sapphics, young trans-trenders, cultured catamites, bi-furious beasties and middle-brow mollies.

Fleet  | 1 Jul | Fleet & District Carnival has been at the heart of the Fleet community since 1956 and is a very much-loved tradition – the carnival caters for all with the carnival procession at 12pm.

Bristol | 1 Jul | St Paul’s Carnival is a fusion of Carnival culture and heritage. This year’s theme will be ‘Learning From Legends’, honouring legends from our past, present and future. The procession features Batala, Hype Dance, Bristol School of Samba, St Paul’s Carnival Dance Troupe and more.

Eastham | 1 Jul | Eastham Carnival is a community celebration in Torr Park. There will be food, drink & entertainment including a parade at 11am, a Majorette performance, a samba band performance, a Fusion Dance performance, giant bubbles demonstrations, stilts lady, circus workshops and more!

Basingstoke | 1-2 Jul | Discover art in unusual places with Weekend Two of the Basingstoke Festival, including Autin Dance Theatre, Scratchbuilt Productions, Joss Arnott Dance, Oily Cart, Tit for Tat Circus, Inverted Theatre and Junk Jodie.

Hedge End | 1-2 Jul | Hedge End Carnival has been running since 1921, bringing communities together to have a great time  and raise money for local causes. Don’t miss the carnival procession, 1 Jul at 2.15pm, and the gala event in Greta Park.

Kensington & Chelsea | 1 Jul-31 Aug | Kensington and Chelsea Festival will bring people together to celebrate, inspire, and be inspired. This multi-arts Festival offers culture for everyone with a great line-up of Outdoor Arts over two months.

Chelmsford | 2 Jul | Chelmsford Carnival is one of the UK’s only eco-friendly carnivals, kicking off with a parade at 1pm. Walk, dance, skip, twirl, hop, or whatever takes your fancy, come and be part of it!

London | 2 Jul | Camden Mela is a community festival with arts & crafts, food stalls, live music, dance and a funfair – celebrating the richness of British cultural diversity.

London Bridge | 5 Jul | The Dance WE Made at Summer by the River is a show by Casson & Friends where everyone is a choreographer – help the dancers create some new moves and watch the performance come together before your very eyes.

Henley-On-Thames | 5-9 Jul | Henley Festival embraces a vibrant programme from pop to world music, classical to jazz where art and gastronomy share equal billing with music. Outdoor Arts include Matt Ricardo, Artizani, Musical Ruth, Silent Adventures, Jason Maverick,  Fairly Famous Family, The Screaming Me Me’s, Mad Etiquette and Allin Kempthorne.

France | 6-8 Jul | Cratère Surfaces is a place of freedom, sharing ideas and mixing cultures. This year Catalan companies are in the spotlight. Don’t miss Morphosis by Cie Moso, Worksite! by Cie Urbaindigènes, In Situ and Block Party by Jann Gallois,In Paradise by Ex Nihilo; Mirage by Dyptik Company; Inhabited by Cie Délit de Façade, Starship Groovers by Mouv’N’Brass and Ze New Bamboche Tour by Jacquard Brothers.

Bristol | 6-8 Jul | Playable City Sandbox is a creative research and development programme by Watershed which places play at the heart of the city, sparking imagination and conversation about inclusion, sustainability, surveillance and the future of cities.

Tynemouth| 6-9 Jul | Mouth of the Tyne Festival returns this year with special outdoor concerts at Tynemouth Priory and Castle with a programme of free street entertainment. You can see Timeless by Joli Vyann, The Battling Butlers by Bash Street Theatre, Zig Zag by Cie Alexandra N’Possee, The Owl and the Pussycat by Murmuration Arts, Jumpers for Goalposts by Meta4 Dance Company, Parade – The Giant Wheel by Autin Dance Theatre, Victorian Time Travellers by Bell and Bullock, Les Oiseaux by Neighbourhood Watch Stilts International, Dovetail by Vanhulle Dance Theatre, Gibbon by Gandini Juggling and Stories in the City by Les Dudes, and Garaghty and Tom.

Hartlepool | 6-9 Jul | Tall Ships offers four days of jam-packed music, dance, performance and passion. A huge performance by Walk the Plank will shine out over the site – and there’s WILD by Motionhouse, CastAway by Highly Sprung, performance hairdressing by Osadia, For The People, By The People by Whippet Up, Dandyism by Patrick Ziza, Blue Wave by the University of Sunderland and The National Trust, as well as lots of walkabout entertainment including our own Lorna Rees as the Harbourmaster!

Wells | 6-9 Jul | The Wells Theatre Festival complements the current Wells Literary, Arts, Comedy and Food festivals and encourages young people to participate in theatre practice – Pirate Taxi by Pirates of the Carabina, As You Like It by Wells Community Theatre and The Grimm Sisters by Scratchworks Theatre Company.

Leicestershire | 7-9 Jul | Timber Festival invites all nature lovers, daydreamers and big thinkers to join artists, musicians and writers, as they respond and react to the forest in bold and exhilarating ways. Outdoor Arts includes The Working Boys Club,Sonia Sabri Company, Trigger, Ghetto Fabulous, Ian and Jo Douglas,  Adam Blake, Thingumajig Theatre, Bamboozle Theatre and Purple Theatre. Join OAUK for drinks on Saturday night in the Shivelight Area at 7.15pm.

The Netherlands | 7-9 Jul | Deventer op Stelten is an international Outdoor Arts festival which has celebrated culture and arts on the streets for more than 20 years. Deventer turns into a giant open-air theatre with over 150 national and international top performances across the historical city centre.

Thamesmead | 7-9 Jul | Summer in the Park: Gallions Park Picnic is an afternoon of family-friendly performances, workshops, games and community fun; performances from Beeja Dance, TARU Arts and more!

Bournemouth | 8 Jul | GLAM at Bournemouth Pride is a fun, outdoor street performance with acrobatics, hand-to-hand, disco, feathers, glitter and glamorous make-up by Etta Ermini Dance Theatre & Van Huynh Company, presented by Pavilion Dance South West and Bourne Free.

Basingstoke | 8-9 Jul | More art in unusual places for Weekend Three of the Basingstoke Festival with Theatre Temoin, Mimbre and Daryl & Co, Miss High Leg Kick, Pumpkin Pantos, SAY and Scratchbuilt Productions.

Bath | 8 Jul | Bath Carnival has a stellar lineup of genre-spanning live music, carefully curated local food and drink and of course the incredible spectacle of drummers, dancers, sound systems and giant puppets.

The Isle of Wight | 8 Jul | The Isle of Wight Mardi Gras is New Carnival Company’s flagship event and showcases the very best of children and young people’s carnival experience through learning, creating and performance.

Somerset | 8 Jul | Bridgwater Quayside Festival is a free summer festival in the parks, squares, streets and venues across Bridgwater, including hula hoop star Angie Mack, and street theatre shows from Ben Cornish and Merlin Cadogan.

Bradford | 8-9 Jul | Bradford Eid Festival, the North’s largest Eid Festival, includes Yorkshire’s biggest summer funfair, a huge bazaar, a food court, Qawwali in the park on Saturday and Nasheeds in the park on Sunday.

Blackburn | 8-9 Jul | The National Festival of Making is a unique celebration of making, from the kitchen table to the factory floor; see Mughal Miniatures by Sonia Sabri Company, Do What Your Mama Told Yah! by Just More Productions, and Talkaoke by The People Speak.

Southampton | 9 Jul | Get the whole family involved at Turner Sims Family Summer Day with workshops, music, dance, craft – and of course, the chance to make LOTS of noise. Don’t miss performances and workshops by Folk Dance Remixed.

Willenhall | 9 Jul | Sucha Mela 2023 is the ultimate extravaganza for families – be a part of non-stop entertainment and sensational music!

Chelmsford | 9 Jul | Streets Alive is an afternoon of fun, laughter and general ‘silliness’ as some of the UK’s best Street Theatre hits the city centre. Expect the unexpected!

Nottingham | 9-15 Jul | Twelfth Night: Open Air Theatre, presented by Lakeside Artsand Nottingham Playhouse, offers laughs, mixed-up identities and a whole lot of outdoor fun!

Birmingham | 10-16 Jul | At TILT Festival you will train with world-renowned artists and witness the best in Circus, Dance & Physical Theatre shows. Sustainable and striving for zero waste, TILT is the best the UK has to offer.

France | 11 Jul-22 Aug | Festival Place aux Mômes is a free festival of living arts. Don’t miss La Fin Demain by Zirkus Morsa.

Hebden Bridge | 13-16 Jul | Open Space 70 is an environmental arts project & festival, made by and for the people of Calderdale, made up of 70 exhibitions and installations, happenings, performances, workshops, talks and walks.

Bromsgrove | 14-15 Jul | Bromsgrove Carnival is a not-for-profit event that has been run for over 100 years and is run entirely by volunteers. Enjoy live music, street food, children’s entertainment, a fun funfair and more!

Cumbria | 14-15 Jul | Far more than an outdoor cinema, the Picnic Cinema experience includes dressing up, camping over, and letting your hair down with fun and games before the film, music, dancing and many more surprises (Eden Arts).

Barnsley | 14-16 Jul | Barnsley’s Big Weekend is back with three days of free events, activities and culture, including the Brassed On! music festival, Barnsley Pride, Mayor’s Day and the #WhatsYourMove family-friendly sports day.

Belgium | 14-18 Jul | The circus is coming to Ghent for Miramiro Festival, ready to amaze young and old. Grease your vocal cords for all the oohs and aahs that will come with these neck-breaking acts, with acrobatics, clowns, dance and more.