Family fun events at Festival Coast Live!
Live events and performances across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
Even more free fun family events are taking place this week at Festival Coast Live!
At The Triangle on Saturday afternoon, Festival Coast Live! is excited to welcome the Dorset Indian Mela which will be bringing a colourful celebration of Indian culture and heritage to the town. With the ‘Dance ‘n Beats Bollywood Dance Academy’ set to perform, Manoj Pillai organiser of this year’s mela said,
“The Dorset Indian Mela team are delighted to showcase our vibrant Indian culture to the general public through a display of Bollywood fusion dances, Indian classical dances, Indian ethnic drums and much more.”
On the FCL! stage at Horseshoe Common on Saturday, the immersive, Manchester festival circuit favourite band, Henge - seen at Glastonbury in 2019 - is set to perform their memorable and out of this world show. Sometimes serious, and often humorous this gig is not to be missed and is available to enjoy as part of the Arts by the Sea Summer Series.
This week in the Star Tent in the Lower Gardens, 5-piece brass band, King Brass is delivering FREE brass/percussion workshops and performing a range of family classics. The highlight of the band is an enormous sousaphone (like a big tuba) which is pedalled around on a bike, because it is so heavy! Other musical highlights this week is on Friday afternoon, when the Festival Coast Live! Big Screen travels to Ashley Cross green. Bring a picnic and all the family and watch the broadcast of a full BSO Symphony concert, Tchaikfest, celebrating the passionate music of Tchaikovsky and featuring music from Swan Lake.
The 1940’s will be the flavour of the day on Poole Quay on Sunday when the Society for Poole stages an exhibition which commemorates the 75+1 anniversary of the end of the war and depicts some of the little-known stories of the town. There will be live swing and jazz music from the Sodapops and Jemz band providing a soundtrack from the era to commemorate VE/VJ Day. WW2 military vehicles and a couple of WW2 fire trucks will join vintage cars on the Quay to make this a tremendous day out for all the family.
Also in Poole this weekend, Pirates, Castaways and Codfish takes place at Scaplen’s Court celebrating the 150 years of Poole’s remarkable maritime history between 1580 and 1730. Hear the story of Elizabeth Hyde unfold, the tale of Poole’s very own female spy! There will be music too from The Exmouth Shanty Men (Saturday) and Roaring Trowmen (Sunday) who will be conjuring up reminiscences of life at sea with a chorus of sea shanties.
Don Nutt, Poole Bay Rotary member and the organiser of the event said,
“An important condition of our Heritage Lottery funding support was that we should share our findings of life in Poole in the 17th Century as widely as possible and so Pirates, Castaways and Codfish was born! It is our great pleasure to tell the stories, through crafts, music and theatre of how growing up in old Poole then, was vastly different from today.”
Councillor Beverley Dunlop, Lead Member for FCL! said; “Each week of the summer at Festival Coast Live! we are seeing a larger and more diverse variety of acts and events showcasing not only the wide talent that we have in our area but also the depth of history for residents and visitors to learn about and enjoy. I can’t think of a better way to spend the summer!”
Festival Coast Live! brings together and promotes all that is best about events, festivals and outdoor performances taking place across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole over the summer months.
For a full line up of the week’s entertainment and live performance details, including times and locations, visit the Festival Coast Live! Schedule page or follow the social media pages. Don’t forget to post and share your photos using #FCL! @festivalcoastlive and join the conversation.
Do please note programming is subject to change.