Yahoo News Five great events set to put Plymouth on the map in the next month
Plymouth is set for an entertaining and fun-filled summer with family-oriented events starting from today. Visitors are expected to be enticed to Britain's Ocean City by a mix of music, food and frolics.
Here are just five great events set to draw people to the city. If you have an event you want to tell us about, get in touch by emailing news@plymouthherald.co.uk.
Plymouth Urban Tree Festival
The Plymouth Urban Tree Festival is a nine-day series of events from May 11 to 19 to bring people together and celebrate Plymouth's trees. The festival is organised by the charity Plymouth Tree People and has more than 40 events with many of them free.
The itinerary includes guided tree walks, children’s events, competitions and workshops. Events are being held all over the city, some by individuals and some in collaboration with other Plymouth organisations.
Read next:
An opening event takes place at Tulgey Woods on Saturday, May 11, from 3pm until 6pm, with morris dancers, tours and workshops. There is a family event on Friday, May 17 at the community space Keyham Green Places with storyteller Lisa Schneidau, a children’s tree-themed poetry competition and live music, starting at 3.30pm.
On Saturday, May 18, from 2pm, there will be Tree’s A Crowd, a fun celebration of trees and people at Snapdragons, at the Bowling Green in Victoria Park, with folk music group Wren Music, food and drink and the Art and Energy Collective. Before it kicks off people can join the Rebel Botanists for a “chalk walk” in Victoria Park which will finish at Snapdragons.
A film will be shown at the Plymouth Arts Cinema called The Happy Man Tree which is about a campaign in Hackney to save a plane tree. The filmmakers have very agreed to come to Plymouth for the showing and beforehand they are holding Interventions.
The Interventions are in three parts: People are urged to notice a tree at risk, a tree that has been lost – or simply they love. Organisers then invite people to walk from the tree, alone or with others, to reach the cinema at 6pm on Tuesday, May 14.
At 6pm, at Plymouth Arts Cinema, people can contribute to the ever-evolving Mycelium Mundus tapestry, share stories of trees, and listen to a specially-created audio work which will play as people enter the auditorium to watch the film. After the screening people are invited to join a reflection about the impact of the loss of mature trees in towns and cities across the UK.
Penny Tarrant, chair of Plymouth Tree People, said: “"We are really excited to be delivering a bigger and better Urban Tree Festival in Plymouth this year. There's something for everyone, so please check out our programme and sign up for one of the many, mostly free events. We want to share our love of trees and to tell you about all they do to keep us healthy across the city. Many thanks to the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest for funding this year's festival. "
Follow Plymouth Urban Tree Festival on Instagram and Facebook for updates. Check out our schedule of events on our website plymouthurbantreefestival.com
Click here to join PlymouthLive on WhatsApp and we'll send breaking news and top stories directly to your phone. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Plymouth Pirates Weekend
Now in its 13th year, the popular Plymouth Pirates Weekend returns to Britain’s Ocean City on Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19, with tens of thousands of people expected to attend. This impressive Galeón Andalucía, a full-size replica of a 17th Century Spanish galleon and a floating museum, will be open each day after coming alongside on the Barbican Landing Stage from Wednesday, May 15, Saturday.
The visit to the galleon consists of a self-guided walking tour. Once on board, visitors are free to wander its decks, talk to the crew and enjoy dozens of interactive exhibits, videos, projections and historical documents. Booking for Galeón Andalucía is available in advance via https://tickets.velacuadra.es/selection/timeslotpass?productId=10229011586238 or on the day at the entrance to the Barbican Landing Stage.
Visitors will also be able to visit another vessel, the Pascual Flores, for free by showing a Galeón Andalucía ticket, but will need to pay to get to the vessel, which will be berthed on the Cattewater visitor pontoons, by water taxi from the Barbican Landing Stage. Water taxi charges will apply.
This year, more than 15 sea shanty bands will travel to Plymouth to entertain at venues across the waterfront, including into the evening. Jon Walton, chief executive of Plymouth Waterfront Partnership, said: “What could be better than hearing the rousing chorus of a sea shanty being sung on the historic cobbles of the Barbican across Plymouth Pirates Weekend? We’re delighted this year to be able to extend the toe tapping into the evening too, with a number of the bands performing ‘after dark’ at venues across the waterfront. Come along and support our wonderful waterfront businesses with free entertainment.”
Across the weekend, and from The Parade on the Barbican to the Royal William Yard via West Hoe Park and Commercial Wharf, visitors will be able to enjoy a range of entertainment including: Swashbuckling School, Pirate Coin Making, Pirate Cannon and All Aboard, Face painting, Pirate Puppet Show, The Society of King George III Canon/Musket Firing, Pirate Storytelling and Songs, Mermaid Seaquest, Pirate Prank Show (Saturday only) and Pirate Pandemonium (Sunday only), and Treasure Hunt (Royal William Yard).
For the ever-popular Pirates Weekend Trail, pick up your free trail map included in the Plymouth Pirates Weekend entertainment leaflet from the Tourist Information Centre. Complete the trail and return your answers to the Tourist Information Centre to claim your prize.
There’s a pirate themed dog show being held by Gables on May 18 at West Hoe Park. The park will also have market stalls and children’s entertainment across the two days.
And the UK’s first Pirate Fun Run will take place at 10.30am on Sunday, May19; a scenic 3km walk, jog, or run along Plymouth's historic waterfront. People are asked to dress up in creative pirate gear – the more outlandish, the better.
For a full list of entertainment and timings please visit https://www.visitplymouth.co.uk/whats-on/major-events/plymouth-pirates-weekend/entertainment-programme
Plymouth Citybus will run a free shuttle bus during the Pirates Weekend between 10am and 4pm (Saturday) and 11.30am to 4pm (Sunday). The shuttle bus service will be known as service 25P - this service will be in addition to their usual 25 service. The full route and timings can be found at https://www.plymouthbus.co.uk/pirates-weekend-shuttle-bus
Alive at Argyle
Plymouth is set to welcome some of the biggest names in house, drum and bass and techno for Alive at Argyle.DJ and music producer Patrick Topping will join Becky Hill, Ben Nicky, Hannah Wants, Bru-C, Charlotte Haining and Solardo for the one-day dance music festival on Saturday May 25 at Home Park stadium.
Topping, known for his tracks Make Me Happy, Forget and Turbo Time, has toured the world and owns record company Trick. He will headline the festival, set to be one of the biggest electronic music events Plymouth has seen.
There will be a mainstage on the pitch, and a second stage, named the Concourse, constructed underneath the Devonport End which will feature 20 local DJs playing for leading brands Casa, Spektra, and Viva Disco. Working closely with Home Park Stadium, the event is produced by the city's leading independent promoters responsible for hosting world-class DJ’s and acts every week.
Final tickets are on sale at www.aliveatargyle.com , with limited group offers and deals and VIP packages. Click here for more information.
Flavour Fest
Plymouth’s food and drink extravaganza Flavour Fest is set to celebrate 20 years in 2024. Already the South West’s largest free culinary event, Flavour Fest 2024 is expanding to feature a new entertainment zone in partnership with The Treasury, where visitors can relax, soak up the atmosphere with live music and DJs whilst enjoying street food and sipping cocktails.
The festival, organised by the Plymouth City Centre Company, will also feature more than 80 stalls of local produce, tasting sessions and, new for this year, masterclasses, workshops, themed demonstrations and children’s activities, to mark the anniversary.
Held in the heart of Plymouth, the 2024 event will encompass the city centre and the newly revamped Civic Square and run over the bank holiday weekend of Friday, May 31, to Sunday, June 2. Award winning chef Peter Gorton will again be running the chefs’ demo stage but organisers have added a packed programme of extras, including the new entertainment zone with music into the evenings from DJs and bands including The Hot House Combo, The Busketeers, Hayward, Reece Johnson and Andy Brown.
They have also teamed up with The Bazaar to offer a “vibrant, culturally-rich” marketplace with international flavours, music, dance and workshops. There will also be a variety of indoor events on the top floor of House of Fraser, including children’s activities and a Tea Dance with a Twist.
A staple of the city’s summer events programme since its inception in 2004, Flavour Fest attracts up to 100,000 visitors eager to sample the extensive menu of food and drink from across the South West. This year’s cornucopia of delicious dishes and drinks includes authentic artisan food from a variety of cultures, plus jams, chutneys, cheeses, baked goodies, burgers and beef, along with drinks from coffee and tea through to rum, gin, whisky and liqueurs. Flavour Fest has been partly funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Steve Hughes, chief executive of Plymouth City Centre Company, said: “This promises to be the event of the summer with the usual mix of chefs, traders and food and drink producers but this year we have added a packed entertainment programme to carry on the party into the evenings on the beautifully revamped Civic Square.”
For more information and the full programme of events and list of traders click here.
Plymouth Summer Sessions
TK Maxx presents the first Plymouth Summer Sessions music festival in June on Plymouth Hoe . Headliners Tom Jones, Sting, Blondie, Madness and Bryan Adams will top the four-day festival.
On Thursday, June 13, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Stone Foundation will open for Tom Jones. The following day, Bryan Adams will be supported by Cassyette and Vivas, The Zutons, Lightning Seeds and Hardwicke Castle will be joining Madness on Saturday, June. 15. Plymouth Summer Sessions will wrap up on Sunday, June 16, with Australian group Germein supporting headliner Sting and Blondie
For the first time, TK Maxx will join Plymouth Summer Sessions as presenting partner. This is part of a new agreement with Cuffe & Taylor shows across the country including Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Live at The Piece Hall, Derby Summer Sessions, Depot Live, Bedford Summer Sessions, Southampton Summer Sessions.
For tickets and further information, music fans should follow @smmrsessions and visit smmrsessions.com, or visit Ticketmaster here.
