Things to Do

In addition to the parade's usual promise of giant school lanterns, hundreds of homemade lanterns, circus performances and samba beats, for this year only there are special junk percussion workshops to make instruments, learn the rhythms and join the parade band. Percussion and lantern-making workshops are every Sunday at The Old Bath House Community Centre between 2-5pm.  Thanks to funding from Tesco Bags for Help, MK Community Foundation, Wolverton Science and Arts Institute, Avenues and Mrs B's Emporium, the team has commissioned nationally renowned artist 'The Junk Orchestra' to deliver a day of DIY junk music fun at Slated Row School, and we're all invited to join The Junk Orchestra and make and play our own instruments on the big day.  The fun starts from 2pm with free circus skills and musical mayhem for the kids, followed by performances including Rock Choir, Wolverton Town Band and Concrete Circus.  The parade..

Get ready to jingle all the way to Christmas Day and get Christmassing with intu Milton Keynes! With everything shoppers need to fill their stockings, sparkle at the office party and ‘wow’ on Christmas Day, the festive season at intu Milton Keynes starts and ends with surprise and delight. Here’s a roundup of Christmas this year at intu. The festive season kicks off in true ‘spirit’ – literally – as THOR’S tipi bar comes to the centre on Friday 10 November. The giant 30ft high tipi with pop up bar will open in Oak Court, complete with an atmospheric fire pit, cosy faux furs and a cocktail list to die for, stop by for a festive tipple, open daily from 10am until late! From the 10 November, little ones can jump into a sea of snow and throw snowballs in the free ‘Snow Garden’ plus letter writing to Santa opens..

Action4Youth, a leading charity providing positive, often transformational experiences to motivate children and young people, has launched a new initiative, The Inspiration Programme. The charity is keen to hear from leading employers across Milton Keynes that can support the programme in educating a talented future workforce.  The NCFE accredited one year course is being piloted in 2017/18 with students from Milton Keynes Academy and Aylesbury College. The Business element of the programme aims to provide an understanding of the workplace, how businesses operate and will help define career choices and better prepare young people for work. One element of the course is a speed networking session, where students will meet representatives from a range of business sectors in quick succession, in order to help students to understand the diverse range of career paths available to them and to realise the importance of making a good first impression. We will also..

This half term (October 23-27) treat everyone to a day at Milton Keynes Museum – there will be plenty of entertainment to keep little folks happy, so you can relax and enjoy yourselves along with the kids! Young attentions and imaginations will be captured with 'science and more' shows taking place throughout each day. And forget lessons, children's crafts will take over in the schoolroom. As a hands-on environment Milton Keynes Museum positively encourages little fingers to handle the history under its roof. Maybe they would like to dial up some fun in the Connected Earth gallery with its fully working telephone exchange, or would prefer to play parlour games and make good use of the pianola? And no visit is complete without a stroll along the wonderful Street of Shops. It's might be chilly outside, but one place that is always nice and snuggly is the Farmhouse Kitchen, and..

The Parks Trust is asking the people of Milton Keynes to pull on their wellies, wrap up warm and lend a hand on its annual Make a Difference Day, which will be held on Sunday 22nd October 2017. This year, help is needed to tidy up Linford Lakes Nature Reserve. Tasks will include planting holly bushes to secure the far boundary, cleaning the bird hides and feeders, clearing the paths and clearing scrub from the butterfly grass bank to encourage the rich diversity of grasses and flowers for insects to feed on. Those keen to take part should meet staff from The Parks Trust at the Reserve at 10am. Free parking is available onsite – Linford Lakes Nature Reserve Education Centre, Wolverton Road, Great Linford MK14 5AH. Volunteers are asked to dress for messy, outside work with relevant footwear, and bring gardening gloves, an outside broom or brush and a..

Get ready for a Spook-tacular half term at intu Milton Keynes; packed with monstrously marvellous games and goodies!  Free for all little witches, wizards and goblins, let your little monsters get their claws into free pumpkin carving, games & crafts plus Milton Keynes’ biggest trick or treat, visit the centre and get ghoulish from Monday 23 October.  Guess the spooky items in the mysterious Halloween boxes and take a terrifying selfie next to the giant bubbling cauldron.  Deadly date for the diary: Join the city’s biggest trick or treat from Saturday 28 – Sunday 29 October. Don your favourite Halloween fancy dress outfit and join hundreds of little monsters at intu Milton Keynes as they roam the centre in search of treats from the retailers – or even a trick or two. Mwahahahaha!  Need some spooky inspiration? Why not pick up a Star Wars Yoda costume from Debenhams, a skeleton..

On Saturday 21 October, central Milton Keynes will host Feast of Fire - a free, magical and fiery celebration for MK50 - and the organisers are looking for 250 people to take part in The People’s Procession. Ursula White, The People’s Procession Project Manager, says: “We want people of all ages and backgrounds who will show Milton Keynes as the diverse vibrant city it has become over the past 50 years. Participants can be young or old, living or working in the city, a community organiser, a group representative or someone who simply makes a difference. You can put yourself forward or nominate someone else. Everyone involved is going to play a special part in a wonderful night, the last of the official MK50 celebrations.” Feast of Fire starts at 6.30pm with Spellbound, a beautiful large-scale show featuring captivating puppetry, dance and special effects, in The Point car park. The..

More than 200 years have passed since Napoleon was defeated at The Battle of Waterloo, but time rewinds at Milton Keynes Museum this weekend, when the history hub plays host to a small group of Russian and Prussian soldiers who helped Wellington succeed during the struggle on June 18, 1815. In reality, they are re-enactors of course, and arrive with faithful representations of the arms, uniforms and shelters used by the real soldiers, to provide the public with a true glimpse into life as a soldier in the battle. The infantry and artillery camp will be set up on site on Sunday, October 1st and will be giving talks and demonstrations of musketry and artillery during the day. They will fire muskets and cannons too, but without the use of live ammunition - they might be re-enactors, but have no wish to faithfully recreate the battle itself! “The purpose of..

More than 100 cars, vans, motorcycles and military vehicles will be cruising into MK Museum for the annual celebration of transport past and present this weekend (September 16 & 17). Many of the cars parking up for the Transport Weekend are labours of love for their owners, who have spent significant amounts of time and money to get them looking all shiny and sensational. Those who prefer to travel on two wheels will be thrilled by the large turnout of gleaming bikes (including Vespas), and retro buses and coaches will evoke sunny day trips to the seaside. All of the usual museum attractions will be open throughout the weekend, too. The tea room will serve refreshments and it's famous yummy cakes, and various other snack wagons will be helping to keep hunger at bay. Take your weekend up a gear and journey over with the whole family! Standard admission applies..

Summer may nearly be over, but that doesn’t mean the fun has to end – because the third and final MK50 What’s on Guide has arrived! The new booklet is packed with MK50 events taking place this year to celebrate Milton Keynes 50th birthday, including MK50’s official free event, the spectacular Feast of Fire! September starts with a trip down memory lane with the annual MK Heritage Open Days from 7 – 10 September. Over the long weekend more than 70 free history-themed events will be springing up across the city, including tours, activities, exhibitions and performances. Admission will be free at local heritage sites including the Milton Keynes Museum, Bletchley Park (200 free tickets per day) and Olney’s Cowper and Newton Museum. This month will also see the MK Job Show, a Flower Festival at the Church of Christ the Cornerstone and the MK Food Fest at Linford Manor..

Over 1,500 festival goers enjoyed the sunshine, food and entertainment at the revived Swanbourne Music Festival last Sunday, 27th August. Hosted for the first time by Swanbourne’s local pub, The Betsey Wynne, (www.TheBetseyWynne.co.uk),  #SwanMusicFest marked its re-opening last Monday (21st August), following a major five-week refurbishment and glass-fronted extension by the award winning pub group, Oakman Inns. The happy crowd - a great family mix from toddlers to grandparents with families and friends - chilled out and sunbathed on an assortment of beach towels, rugs, and pop up seating and were entertained throughout the afternoon and into the evening by some of the best local musical talent, culminating with headline act, Toploader. Jack Ashmore, the General Manager at The Betsey Wynne, said: “We’ve been working on our refurbishment over the last couple of months and thought reviving the Festival would be a brilliant way to celebrate our re-opening. The weather..

Milton Keynes launches MK Lit Fest - from Friday 22 to Tuesday 26 September 2017 - bringing five days of the finest contemporary writing and everything book-related for bibliophiles and word-lovers: Young Adult fiction, the psychology of thrillers, poets, literature in translation, children's events, local historians and archivists, fantasy, romance, game-based writing, illustration… it's all here. Highlights include: a Launch Event performance by legendary British-Jamaican reggae poet and recording artist Linton Kwesi Johnson two events with Michael Rosen - one for his world-famous work for children, and a second (for adults) to accompany his recently published book about French author, Emile Zola an interview with MK-based Bestselling Author Carole Matthews an intriguing discussion with psychological thriller writers, Teri Terry and Sarah Pinborough book-signings by How to Train Your Dragon author, Cressida Cowell leading authors include Katie Ward, Joanna Walsh, Clare Mulley, Terence Blacker and poets Siobhán Campbell and Jane Yeh...

He’s one of the nation’s best-loved comedy characters. TV star John Challis is best known for his role as Boycie in BBC’s Only Fools And Horses – and in recent years he has returned to the screen to play Captain Peacock in BBC’s Are You Being Served and Monty in ITV’s smash hit comedy Benidorm. Now he plans to reveal the secrets of what goes on behind the scenes when he hits the road with Only Fools And Boycie. Fans can look forward to an intimate evening, during which Mr Challis will talk about his relationships with Only Fools stars like David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst. He will also talk about his work in other TV shows, like Dr Who and Coronation Street, as well as revealing how he turned down The Beatles during the swinging sixties after they asked him to star in The Magical Mystery Tour. John will meet fans afterwards in a post-show meet’n’greet to pose for selfies and sign autographs. What can your fans..

Cycle September is a free competition between workplaces to see who can get the most staff riding a bike and pedalling the most miles. Supported by Milton Keynes Council, Get Smarter Travel and Love to Ride, Cycle September encourages everyone to give cycling a go. Participants can win some fantastic prizes by accumulating miles, including trips to Brighton, Berlin, Italy and San Francisco, as well as bikes, gear, vouchers and more. You only need to sign up and cycle for 10 minutes to be entered into the competition, but the more you cycle the greater your chances are of winning. Points are awarded for encouraging others to join as well as riding and workplaces can see how they’re doing on local and national leader boards. Leader of Milton Keynes Council, Peter Marland said: “This is a fantastic initiative that I hope will get more people discovering Milton Keynes by bike...

We’re excited that television, musical theatre and pantomime legend Brian Conley is to compete for the ‘glitter ball trophy’ in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, before taking to the Milton Keynes Theatre stage for the spectacular family pantomime, CINDERELLA. In a career spanning four decades Brian has appeared in award-winning West End musicals and television sitcoms, presented his own chat shows, recorded three albums and completed numerous sell-out tours of the UK. On stage he has starred as Edna Turnblad in the hit West End musical Hairspray and the title role in the UK tour of Barnum, both of which played Milton Keynes Theatre previously. Brian has completed a nationwide tour of Brother Love, celebrating the music of Neil Diamond, directed and choreographed by Craig Revel Horwood, starred in the nationwide tour of Oliver! playing Fagin, played the title role in Jolson, for which he was nominated for an Olivier..