Comedy, Music, Art & Conversation: Keele University to Host Byline Festival this July
Plus a free Women in Business Wellness workshop, open mic nights at Darcy's, Drop City's Bookshop in a Van and bank holiday disco fun at The Sugarmill
WHAT’S ON/THINGS TO DO ✅
HIGHLIGHTED ⬇️ (FULL EVENTS LISTINGS BELOW)
🎤 It’s Festival Time At Keele. 11-13/07, Keele University Campus. With a theme of defending truth and democracy, the acclaimed Byline Festival will bring an eclectic mix of comedy, music, art and conversation to our fine Stoke campus. Local nu-marching band KiLNE will be there, while award-winning local writer Lisa Blower will show her play The Miner Birds, which celebrates the voices of women mobilised during the 1984 miners’ strike. Other highlights include art from Urban Wilderness and a local poet and singer/songwriter showcase from Kwanzaa Collective. This local talent will be joined by leading national speakers such as Carol Cadwalladr, Peter Oborne and Lord Victor Adebowale. ‘Nearly’ Early Bird weekend tickets from £98 not including accommodation. Locals get 20% off with the code LUNAR.
💻 Co-working with The Knot community. 04/06, 9am - 5pm, Smithfield Works Hanley. Join us for a day of co-working at Smithfield Works in Hanley. Meet some new people and get sh*t done. £10 for a day pass for The Knot readers. Head to this booking page, book a Bronze day pass for June 4th, add your discount code (KNOTSW10) at the checkout and we’ll see you there.
😌 Free! Women in Business Wellness Workshop. 08/07, 9.30am-12.30pm, Daisy Bank House. Designed for female founders and business owners, Women in Business: Thrive as you Lead: Cultivating Wellbeing & Resilience, an event organised by Staffordshire Country Council, will focus on mindset, wellbeing, neurodiversity, boundary setting, and avoiding burnout. The session will include interactive activities and practical, real-life tools. Admission free, tickets here.
🎤 Open Mic Nights. every Thursday from 8pm-11pm, Darcy’s. Got something to say or play? Then join this Fenton open mic night with singer/poet Grant Mathews hosting. If you’ve got stage fright, there’s a free drink for all performers. Admission free.
📚 Bookish Pursuits. 24 & 25/05, 10am-6pm, Ironmarket. Put your phone down and pick up a Penguin classic instead! Drop City Books is swinging by Newcastle for the Lymelight Festival with a 1988 VW Campervan (she’s called Bad Debbie, BTW) full of amazing books. There’s also story time at 11am for kids aged 3 years and up on 25/05. Limited space in the van so story time limited to one adult per child if poss.
🌸 Paper Flower Making for the Centenary. 08/07 & 22/07 from 11am-12pm, Mitchell Arts Centre. Crafty types can get along to these paper flower making workshops to contribute to a flower wall for the centenary. Blooming great idea!
🪩 Funk it Up. 25/05, 3pm-10pm, The Sugarmill. Get on your dancing shoes the night before the upcoming Bank Holiday Monday and party like it’s 1979 at the Disco Disco Disco Sundowner, where the turntables will be strictly limited to spinning disco and pure funk tunes. Platforms and flares optional. Tickets £5 advance, £8 on the door.
⏳ Thrilling Time Travel for Kids. 05/08-06/08, 10am-3pm daily, New Vic. Looking to do something a little bit different with the kids in the summer hols? Suitable for children aged 5-9 years, The Time Traveller’s Adventure is a two-day journey through the ages, taking in dinosaurs, medieval castles and the future, too. Tickets £100, concessions £60 for those on means-tested benefit.
😝 Bill Bailey’s in Town. 28/08, 8pm, Regent Theatre. The magnificent Bill Bailey (some of his best moments here) is in town with new musical comedy Thoughtifier, which promises to take the audience on a jaunt through the history of human thought and examine how it might help us survive in the future. Tickets from £32.69.
EVENTS LISTINGS
Parkrun, every Saturday at 9am at Hanley Park; Trentham Gardens; Cannock Chase; Lower Milehouse Lane, Newcastle; Birchall Playing Fields; Isabel Trail, Stafford
Heritage Walks with the Red Haired Stokie, various dates
Make & Bake, ongoing, Mitchell Arts Centre
Open mic nights, every Thursday, Darcy’s
Potteries Centre Events Series, ongoing, Potteries Centre
Throw a Pot and Pottery Painting, ongoing, Kiln at Number 12
Throw a Pot Sessions, ongoing, LoveClay
Guided Walks in the Peak District, Various, Multiple (Peak District)
Titanic Brewery Tour, multiple dates, Titanic Brewery
Spitfire Comedy Open Mic, multiple dates, Old Post Office, Burslem
Electric Tentacle Electronic Music Open Mic, multiple dates, Captain’s Bar
The Toys Strike Back, until 01/06, Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
Hanley: Moments in a Century, 13/05, Mitchell Arts Centre
Funhouse Comedy Club, 14/05, The Rigger
80s Live, 16/05, Victoria Hall
Rob Beckett, 17/05, Victoria Hall
Kickabout for Cancer, 17/05, Kidsgrove Athletic Club
Harper Street’s 3rd Anniversary, 17/05, Middleport
Josh Pugh, 17/05, Potteries Museum & Art Gallery
Sherlock Holmes Strikes Back, 20/05, Middleport
Natural Causes, 21-25/05, Endon Village Hall
Empowering Boys, Strengthening Men, 22/05, Smithfield Works
Dougie Mac Blacktie Fundraiser, 22/05, World of Wedgwood
Lymelight Festival, 23-25/05, Newcastle Town Centre
HD1.0, 23/05, Smithfield Works
Disco Disco Disco, 25/05, The Sugarmill
Taylor Swift tribute Xenna, 25/05, Mitchell Arts Centre
Arthur Berry - Theatremaker, 27/05-28/06, New Vic
The Simon & Garfunkel Story, 28/05, Regent Theatre
The Wombats, 29/05, Trentham Estate
Ocean Colour Scene, 30/05, Trentham Estate
Jax Jones, The House Garage Orchestra & Nathan Dawe, 31/05, Trentham Estate
Oasish, 31/05, Eleven
Whatever Happened to Phoebe Salt, 31/05, New Vic
Paul Walker and Karen Pfeiffer, 31/05, Rode Heath Village Hall
Murder She Didn’t Write, 01/06, Regent Theatre
Race for Life, 03/06, Trentham Gardens
Centenary Bike Ride, 05/06, Hanley Park
Stoke-on-Trent Day, various locations, 05/06
BBC Philharmonic: A Night At The Opera, 06/06, Victoria Hall
University of Staffordshire Open Day, 07/06 (Stoke) & 14/06 (Stafford)
The Spice Girls Experience, 07/06, Victoria Hall
The Boys From the Blackstuff, 10/06-14/06, Regent Theatre
Dr Melford’s Travelling Show, Gladstone Pottery Museum, 14/06
The Great Baldini Presents The Family Magic Show, 14/06, Mitchell Arts Centre
Stoke-on-Trent Street Dance Championships, 15/06, Northwood Stadium
Calamity Jane, 17-21/06, Regent Theatre
Confidence Live, 18/06 & 19/06, Victoria Hall
Terrorvision, 21/06, The Sugarmill
North Staffs Symphony Orchestra Centenary Concert, King’s Hall, 25/06
Stoke-on-Trent Centenary Celebration Concert, King’s Hall, 28/06
Bat out of Hell, 30/06-05/07, Regent Theatre
Byline Festival, 11-13/07, Keele University
Tom Gates Epic Stage Show, 20/07, Regent Theatre
LIV Golf UK, 25-27/07, JCB Town & Country Club
Paper Flower Making Workshop, 08/07 & 22/07, Mitchell Arts Centre
Women in Business Wellness Workshop, 08/07, Daisy Bank House
Three Counties Open Art, 26/07-23/08, Burslem School of Art
The Time Traveller’s Adventure, 05 & 06/08, New Vic
Bill Bailey, 28/08, Regent Theatre
The Grand Babylon Hotel, 13/09-04/10, New Vic
Russell Watson, 24/10, Victoria Hall
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