With over 120 stalls, this year’s Warwickshire Pride Festival on Saturday 16th August promises to be be another vibrant celebration of diversity, inclusion, and love, bringing together people of all ages and backgrounds. Located in Pump Room Gardens, the festival features live music, a parade down Leamington’s Parade, food-stalls, workshops, competitions and a marketplace showcasing local businesses and community organisations.

Founder and Chair of Warwickshire Pride, Dan Browne highlights some of the activities that will be featuring during the day. He also explains how he got involved with the Pride movement and why gaining visibility, promoting awareness, fostering acceptance and challenging intolerance still have importance and relevance today.

https://warwickshirepride.co.uk/

Leamington’s rich and varied cultural history lends itself perfectly to specialist tours. The town’s contribution to modern music, and how music in-turn shaped the town is the subject of social historian Adam Wood’s tour and immersive presentation. He gives us a sneak preview into what he covers and what’s involved - without giving away too many secrets! Book via Eventbrite.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/leamington-rocks-a-magical-mystery-tour-of-the-music-of-leamington-spa-tickets-1466212584309/

What did people think of Art in the Park? I spent some time in Jephson Gardens on Saturday 2nd August 2025 asking about their highlights so far. Here’s a little 3-minute crunch of the wonderful things they had to say. I think it's the very sound of a summertime festival! https://www.artinpark.co.uk/

Now in its fifth year, this September’s Plein Air will be at the beautiful Compton Verney art gallery and park. An opportunity for artists to create art in an inspiring open setting and for the public to observe the process, engage with th artists and acquire the resulting works.

Janette George, Director of Warwickshire Open Studios explains all and invites artists and aspiring artists to apply to take part. Application deadline is 13th August 2025. https://www.warwickshireopenstudios.org/

Wimbledon brings out the racquet demon in all of us, and we’re lucky to have a lawn tennis and squash club right on our doorstep! Offering holiday clubs for kids over the summer, and with immediate opportunities to play off-peak for adults, Janette George gives us the low-down on the club, its facilities now and plans for the future. www.lltsc.co.uk

The Leamington History Group runs walking tours of Leamington from April to October. Most are run by volunteers and are free! The walk which many people start with is A Walk Back in Time, led by David Morse. I managed to keep him stationary just long enough for him to tell me about the walk, some of its highlights and how you can book.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/leamington-history-group-68599114813

Previously Delights – Deserts & More, the Desai family recently relaunched their café on Regent Street to showcase their family’s traditional Gujarati dishes and drinks. This new eye-catching shopfront enticed me in and I met mother and son team Smruti and Karan. In this episode, they explain how they create their signature menu items, share some of their own personal favourites and highlight how making their food from scratch, including grinding their own spices, enables them to tune their dishes to the individual preferences and dietary requirements of their customers. https://www.instagram.com/desaisstreetfood/

Once again, Jephson Gardens and Mill Gardens host an extraordinary free festival of art, music, performance and food during the first weekend in August. Festival Director Kate Livingston gives us an 8-minute rundown on the 250 artists, live performances and workshops, her top tips for first-timers, and the opportunities for anyone to volunteer in support of this remarkable event. https://www.artinpark.co.uk/