Things to Do

Shoppers at intu Milton Keynes in central MK will now be able to take a break from shopping and enjoy playing some free table tennis as the centre opens a pop-up Ping Pong Parlour.  The parlour can be found opposite Oasis and will be open during normal shopping hours.  Everyone is welcome to drop in to play on one of the two table tennis tables in the parlour, which promises to be an exciting attraction for visitors.  Ping Pong Parlours have already opened in 27 other shopping centres nationwide and form part of Table Tennis England’s vision to inspire people to get active and lead happier, healthier lifestyles by introducing table tennis into unexpected, non-traditional places.   Keely Armitt the Head of Participation at Table Tennis England said: “We’re delighted to be working with intu Milton Keynes to open the Ping Pong Parlour.  We know the table which has been in..

Willen Hospice has announced details of its next incredible overseas challenge, taking place in October 2019. The Borneo Jungle Adventure will be a ten day trek through the rainforest, where explorers will camp in remote villages, see amazing wildlife and even meet orangutans. Willen Hospice CEO, Peta Wilkinson, was the first to sign up for the adventure, which leaves the UK on 11 October. She said: “I’m so excited to be taking part in this challenge and spending time with other Hospice supporters. I love overseas travel and this challenge is a fantastic way to see this incredible island and a great way to challenge yourself to learn new skills, meet new people and so importantly, raise money for your local Hospice.” Willen Hospice are working with travel specialists Different Travel to plan the adventure to the North of Borneo, the third largest island in the world and a land..

Local chain of laundrettes, Bubbles Laundromat has announced it will be hosting a sponsored Iron-A-Thon to raise much needed funds for its local charity, The Bus Shelter MK. On Tuesday 31st July, between 1-3pm a Bubblette from each store will be going head to head to iron as many items of clothing as they can in 2 hours. They are appealing to residents and businesses to back their local Bubblette by donating what they can online to raise money to support the work The Bus Shelter MK do to help people experiencing street homelessness. During a 12 week programme Bus Shelter residents sleep on a converted double decker bus and are helped to access medical services and find sustainable work and housing.  The laundromat is asking for locals to get involved for ‘National Give Something Away Day’ on July 15th, by donating unwanted smart/business attire for the challenge. These will..

It was a fabulous day at the Milton Keynes Dragon Boat Festival at Willen Lake last Saturday. MacIntyre was the official charity for this year’s event, and despite the team coming in last (out of 41 teams!), an incredible day was had by all taking part. Gable Events, the festival organisers have been working with MacIntyre over the past year to create another successful Dragon Boat Festival. Media partners, Business MK and MKFM have also been fantastic supporters of the event with MKFM being present on the day to broadcast from Willen Lake and try their hand at paddling. Special thanks also to Vanessa Barton Photography, official event photographers, and Melis, authentic Turkish cuisine and their sponsors Merinvest, who donated a prize meal to the winners of the most fundraised money for MacIntyre. The festival raised over £13,000 for MacIntyre thanks to the Gold and Silver sponsors of this year’s festival..

Milton Keynes really comes to life in the summer, the city is at its greenest and each weekend is crammed with festivals and events – and this year there’s more than ever before. Clear your calendars because it’s going to be a busy one. If you think nothing ever happens in Milton Keynes, just carry on reading – you’ll be amazed!  6 -7 July – African Diaspora Day, Campbell Park- the Global Outreach Foundation with local African Community groups in Milton Keynes are coming together for its second African Diaspora Day to express their cultural heritage through dance, music, stories and more. You can find more information here.  6 – 7 July – Newport Pagnell Carnival – This year they’re going retro! The annual Newport Pagnell Carnival is back for decades of fun with a parade, classic cars, a rubber duck race, and more – listed here.  7 – 14..

A group of young fundraisers were treated to a special party at Safari MK on Thursday to say thank you for taking part in the Willen Hospice Mini Moo Scooterthon. The event, which took place in May, raised more than £12,000 for the charity. All children who raised more than £100 in scoot sponsorship were invited to the exclusive event where they were presented with certificates and prizes. They also had the chance to play together and meet mascots Florence the Cow and Charlie Monkey. The party was also a chance to launch the Hospice’s Summer Scooterthon, a brand new event that will take place at Silverstone race track on Wednesday 1 August. Starting at 7pm, the Scooterthon will be a chance for children aged 3-11 to take a spin on their mini wheels around the Stowe Circuit, at the home of the British Grand Prix. Events Fundraiser, Gemma Cantwell,..

A mum is encouraging the people of Milton Keynes to join her for an incredi-bubble day out and support their local adult and children’s hospice in memory of her son.  Roman James, who died in 2017, when he was just five years old, was supported by Keech Hospice Care, which cares for children in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Milton Keynes and adults in Luton and south Bedfordshire.  His mum Scarlet, dad Ben, and brother Gabriel, as well as 22 family and friends, are asking everyone to join them and walk, run or dance their way through eight scented bubble stations at Bubble Rush this July to support the charity which cared for him.  “I can’t wait to run Keech’s Bubble Rush on 15 July at Cranfield University because what better way is there to spend a Sunday than running through a giant bubble bath?!” said Scarlet, 26, who will be taking..

The Parks Trust, the self-financing charity that organises and enables over 500 events and activities in its parks each year, is delighted to welcome Quantum Theatre to Campbell Park on Sunday 1st July 2018 for an outstanding performance of The Reluctant Dragon. From the author of The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame, The Reluctant Dragon is a funny, touching and enchanting story of bravery, friendship and heroism. In this beloved classic story, a young boy befriends a poetry-loving dragon living in the Downs above his home. When the town-folk send for St. George to slay the dragon, the boy needs to come up with a clever plan to save his friend and convince the townsfolk to accept him. This open air theatre performance will be fun for all the family; tickets are on sale now at £13 an adult, £8 a child and a great family offer of £30..

With the kick off of the most anticipating tournament of the summer, intu Milton Keynes has a treat that will put a smile on football fans faces across MK. The shopping centre has free official sticker albums to give away, so that they can start collecting stickers of their favourite teams and players from across the world, which is sure to bring joy to shoppers young and old. From Messi to Ronaldo, Kane to Salah, shoppers can collect their heroes from the game to complete their very own album. Also, intu Milton Keynes launches its ‘sticker swap shop’, where duplicates can be swapped and exchanged to help complete this year’s biggest sporting event album. Football fans can collect their free album at the Customer Information desk, near Debenhams and the sticker swap is also now live so keep hold of any duplicates and get ready to trade for those all..

The Animal Encounters Programme for this summer will be all the more exciting with the opening of the new Wildlife Zone. There will also be competitions and quiz trails, farm & nature trails, indoor and outdoor play, and farm to fork menus in the cafés.  New Wildlife Zone Opens! 1st August 2018 The Wildlife Zone will be welcoming summer holiday visitors from August 1st 2018, after a busy four months of preparations that included creating the huge enclosures, animal shelters and the central indoor display. The animal encounters programme will include the new wildlife, allowing visitors to get close to animals, such as the golden eagle, reindeer, fox, ravens, red squirrels, barn and tawny owls. This is an exciting addition to an already popular visitor destination in north Buckinghamshire. Exclusive Animal Encounters As well as the Farmer for a Day experience, always popular during the school holidays, there will be..

Willen Hospice is opening up its gardens to the public on Saturday 23 for their Summer Fair and Tea Dance. The event will bring all the fun of a traditional British summer fair to the Hospice, and will include fairground rides, Pimms and Strawberries, cream teas, a dog show, stalls selling a range of local goods including plants and local crafts, and live entertainment including magician, The Great Gappo! The afternoon will also incorporate a vintage tea dance led by professional dance teachers Adrian and Sara Marsh who will lead guests through the Quickstep, Waltz and Cha Cha Cha. The fair is part of a full week of events including Ascot Ladies Day on Thursday and Ascot Race Day on Friday. The weekend will conclude with one of the Hospice’s much anticipated Fill-a-Bag Sales, where customers are invited to pick up an empty bag on entry for £10, then fill..

Milton Keynes City Orchestra (MKCO) has opened ticket sales for the MK PROMS on September 9th 2018, 3.00pm at MK Theatre. The biggest concert of the year will take place inside our magnificent theatre while The Parks Trust prepare Campbell Park for re-development. Uplifting, traditional and inclusive, the programme remains a classical force with all the favourites. Opening with Fanfare for the Common Man, through the Champagne Galop into the Ride of the Valkyries finishing with the Triumphal March from Aida. That’s just the first half!  Into the second half and the big numbers, Rule, Britannia! Jerusalem, Pomp and Circumstance, The Dam Busters March, Fantasia on British Sea songs and many more. Ellie Laugharne is our Soprano who will lead those great choruses and delight you with a varied repertoire from Summertime to Somewhere over the Rainbow. Flag waving and singing is a must. Marian Livingstone Chairman of MKCO said..

Willen Hospice is appealing to local ladies to be one the 500 additional walkers they need to help them raise vital funds by taking part in this year’s MK Midnight Moo, the charity’s annual 10 mile sponsored walk.  Sadly, registration numbers and fundraising for the event, taking place on Saturday 14 July, are significantly down this year. Just over 500 women have signed up for the event so far, and organisers have calculated that by doubling this number, with each walker committing to just £100 sponsorship, the event will meet its target to raise £100,000 to support the vital end-of-life-care provided by the Hospice.  Figures gathered by the Hospice show that only 50 percent of those who took part in the Moo last year actually returned any sponsorship. They are keen to stress that while the £20 registration fee covers the cost of the event; it’s sponsorship that really makes..

This summer, one of the biggest Aqua Parks in the country is opening in Milton Keynes.  Aqua Parcs, the ultimate inflatable water adventure course, is over 120 metres long and will feature a staggering 30+ obstacles, from climbing walls, giant slides and bouncing balls to the super fast figure-of-eight slide.  The colossal course will be harboured on Willen Lake from July and stay throughout the whole summer, offering families, groups of friends, local businesses and adrenalin junkies a new, unique and fun leisure experience.  The all-weather park is the creation of entrepreneurs Kieron Murty and Joe Grix, Kieron said: “Aqua Parcs is all the fun and excitement of a giant bouncy castle, with slides, challenges and obstacles, but on water. The park has been created for children from ages eight and up to enjoy and for adults to forget they’re adults. We can’t wait to bring this to Milton Keynes.” ..

Shoppers will literally be jumping for joy this week with the rollout of spacehoppers for shoppers that let kids and grown-up kids hop while they shop at intu Milton Keynes as part of intu’s pledge to make customers smile.  The ‘Happy S-hopping’ initiative is part of the launch of intu’s new family club, which aims to give parents and children time to play together in its centres. It follows research that play makes people happier, but less than half of parents (49 per cent) find the time to regularly play with their kids and 61 per cent say they don’t think they devote enough time to playtime.  The study also found that two-thirds of parents (65 per cent) would also like their children to play more non-computerised games and take up traditional favourites like Hopscotch, Kick the Can and Red Rover. According to existing studies, active play like hopping on..