In a region where you can see 1,000 years of history at Nottingham Castle, experience Nottingham’s thriving music and arts scene, and explore some of the best green spaces anywhere in the UK (including the historic hideout of Robin Hood in Sherwood Forest) you’ll be spoilt for choice!
Nottingham Beach – City by the Sea
Old Market Square, Nottingham, NG1 2BY
On now until Sunday 4 September.
• Pictures: Nottingham Beach opens for the first time in three years
Nottingham Beach has made a welcome return this year for everybody to enjoy over the summer holidays, engulfing Old Market Square in summer fun. New for 2022 is the Giant Slip ‘n Slide, a ticketed attraction within Nottingham Beach that comprises two giant inflatable waterslides.
Open Air Theatre at Newstead Abbey
Newstead Abbey, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG15 8GE
Dates vary until Sunday 04 September 2022.
A fantastic season of open-air theatre performances awaits this summer at Newstead Abbey. The manicured gardens and beautiful sites of the Abbey make the perfect backdrop for enjoying an outdoor theatre experience. Come and enjoy timeless favourites such as Much Ado About Murder, Jayne Eyre and Peter Pan.
Nottingham Riverside Festival
Victoria Embankment, Nottingham, NG2 5FB
Friday 5 to Sunday 7 August
• Riverside Festival: Massive weekend ahead as free music programme announced
The East Midlands’ biggest free summer festival will be back on Nottingham’s Victoria Embankment from Friday 5 to Sunday 7 August, with over 250,000 visitors expected at the Riverside Festival after a two-year hiatus. The festival traditionally features a wide range of fun for all ages. Music is, as ever a big part of the festival with three massive live music stages. There will be a whole mile of fairground rides, games and attractions along the banks of the Trent plus numerous street food and drink vendors, a Riverside market and all kinds of river-based activities from dragon boat racing to the annual duck race.
Luminarium – Dodecalis
Lakeside Arts, Highfields Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD
Saturday 6 – Sunday 14 August 2022 | 11am-5.15pm (last admission)
Following a three-year gap, and in their thirtieth anniversary year, we’re delighted to welcome back this Nottingham-based, internationally renowned company with the Nottingham premiere of a new luminarium. Dodecalis cleverly draws visitors through its labyrinthine shapes and three domes where they’ll enjoy stunning, neon-like, vibrant colours. Architects of Air’s luminaria are always sensory, always magical, and make for a truly memorable experience.
Robin Hood Festival 2022
Sherwood Forest Country Park, Swinecote Road, Edwinstowe, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, NG21 9HN
Weekends all summer until 29th August | 2022
• Robin Hood Festival returns over seven weekends this summer
The Robin Hood Festival has returned to Sherwood Forest after three years away, and this time it is all summer long. from 4th August to 7th August, the hugely popular Cavalry of Heroes bring their spectacular equine display show to the forest. For the first time ever, there’ll be a Viking invasion in Sherwood on the weekend of 12th to 15th August, recreating the era of Scandinavian occupation of England.
Gloworm Festival at Thoresby Park
Thoresby Park, Netherfield Lane, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, NG22 9EP
Friday 12th – Sunday 14th August | 2022
The Gloworm Festival is a brilliant 2-day festival that has been especially created for grown-ups and their little people. Festival goers are invited to come and play in a warm, welcoming and creative environment, lose their inhibitions, let their hair down and have some fun. Gloworm believes that children are the most important people in the world, which is why the event is aimed at families with kids aged 0-13, with plenty for teenagers and grown-ups to enjoy too.
Nottinghamshire Day
Various locations throughout Nottingham and Nottinghamshire
August 25th 2022
• Nottinghamshire Day Festival: Line up revealed for first-ever county day music festival
Nottinghamshire Day takes place on the 25 August as this date marks the anniversary of the start of the English Civil War, an event triggered by Charles I raising the royal standard at Nottingham Castle in 1642. A Day to celebrate all things Nottinghamshire especially the Legendary Robin Hood and the Sheriff of Nottingham. Various activities and events celebrating Nottinghamshire’s civil pride will be taking place across the region all day.
Nottingham Carnival 2022
Victoria Embankment
Sunday 21st August | 2022 | 1pm – 8pm
Come, see and experience a programme of colourful costumes, music and cuisine showcasing the influence of Caribbean, Brazilian and African cultures on our city. As always, the parade will be the centrepiece of the Carnival. At any point on the route, spectators can watch a spectacle featuring hundreds of colourful costumes dancing to the lively beats of soca music, steelband and samba drums. As before, the parade will follow a circular route around the Victoria Embankment and The Meadows Recreation Ground.
Clumber Park Festival of Food and Drink
Clumber Park, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, S80 3AZ
Saturday 17 – Sunday 18 September 2022
Now in its ninth year, the Festival of Food and Drink takes place on 17th & 18th September 2022 at Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire. This celebration of local producers and global flavours attracts some of the UK’s best traders and street food vendors, with stalls selling out fast. There’s also a delicious selection of Vegan food for all to enjoy with plenty of new companies making their debut. With lots of entertainment for all the family including children’s cookery workshops, live music, giftware, cocktail bars and breweries, it’s no surprise that the Festival of Food and Drink is the biggest and most popular in the region.
Titus T. Rex is King
Wollaton Hall and Deer Park, Nottingham, NG8 2AE
Ongoing – 31 August 2022
• T-Rex dinosaur sculpture in the eye of a needle
Titus: T. Rex is King is an extraordinary exhibition, showcasing the first real Tyrannosaurus Rex to be displayed in England for over a century. Explore the world of this titanic predator and his story: you’ll see the skeleton of the T. Rex himself, as well as digital and interactive virtual media displays that will immerse you in his extraordinary journey from discovery in the Montana Badlands in the USA, through the experience of excavation, curation, examination, rebuild and final reveal.
