13 unmissable events coming up in Leicester

Fearless Foxes, New Walk Museum
From 4th June
Free
Well, there had to be some football in here right? Relive the most magical season in LCFC’s 132 year history with a visually spectacular exhibition at New Walk Museum, renamed Blue Walk Museum for the time being! The foyer is already blue and there’s more to come. You can retrace the highlights of the season month by month, see how the Foxes story has been received globally and even leave your own highlights. Not to be missed.

Riverside Festival, Bede Park
4th – 5th June
Free
Busy weekend this one! My absolute favourite Leicester festival of the year is back. Lots of beautiful boats on the river including dragon boat racing and boat trips, street entertainers aplenty, a live music stage, craft stalls, Ride Leicester area, children’s activities and of course plenty of space on the park to have a picnic. Fingers crossed for some blazing sunshine to enjoy along with it all!

Hoping for another year of weather like this at Riverside!

Uprising, De Montfort Hall
4th June
£17.50
A glorious day of metal at De Montfort Hall over three stages, including the final of Metal 2 The Masses which will decide who gets to play at Bloodstock. It’s going to be phenomenal. There will be burlesque acts, a range of stalls, comedians and a gaming area, were not all the heavy bands enough. Acid Reign, Beholder and Mage to name but a few will be performing. I will absolutely be there. In fact I’ve been trying to remember to book my tickets for weeks so I’m going to pause writing this post and get them booked right now. Winning.

Cocktails and Consoles, Duffy’s Bar
8th June
Free
Lots of nights like this starting to pop up around Leicester and oh, what fun they are. The name says it all – enjoy a cocktail and take yourself back in the day by having a crack at your favourite old school console game. Streetfighter 2 anyone? I’m looking forward to getting aching fingers from mashing the control pad hopelessly.

Stuff wanders off, a shape steps in, Two Queens
11th June – 23rd July
Free
A solo exhibition by Joanne Masding, looking at worth, ownership and the production of physical things. Masding creates hybrid, animated objects that loop on screens and sculptural surfaces. This Birmingham based artist has recently had residencies and exhibitions in both Stoke, Sheffield and Cardiff and has received favorable mentions in the Guardian. Got to be worth popping by.

Rum Experience, 33cankstreet
9th June
£15
Try 5 different rums and learn all out the history of rum, it’s production and some classic rum cocktails. A fun and interactive evening dedicated to rum! De-licious.

Leicester Vegan Market, Leicester Market
12th June
Free
Leicester’s first vegan market will be featuring food stalls and traders of vegan clothing, shoes, toiletries and gifts as well as charities on the day.

Exchange Comedy Club, The Exchange
16th June
Free

Image courtesy of Linda Blann

Foxton Locks Festival, Foxton Locks
18th – 19th June
Free
Now in it’s sixth year, the highlight of Foxton Locks festival is of course the boats – there will be private, historic and trading boats out and about for you to enjoy. Not only that but a funfair will be on offer, an arena entertainment programme with live music and the Fun Dog Show, pony rides, classic vehicles, miniature steam engines, real ale bar, alpacas and a miniature zoo. Oh, and a champagne bar. And camping is available from £40 to £65 for the weekend. Woot!

Admittedly this is Abbey Pumping Station, but you get the idea.

Small Print Leicester: Making it Happen Print Symposium, Leicester Print Workshop
21st June
£5
Interviews and panel discussions with 4 artist-printmakers will examine the creation of new work and new approaches to those practices. An exciting mix of local and internationally significant artists will converge on Leicester for what will undoubtedly be a fascinating day.

Best of the Rest

Edit: Special mention also goes to the Geese & Fountain’s Welsh Beer Festival on 28th and 29th May out in Croxton Kerial, Leicestershire!

There’s also Leicester Comic Con on June 4th and 5th at Athena, the Clarendon Park Beer Festival on 17th-19th June at the Real Ale Classroom and the Story City Preview on St Martin’s Square on June 18th.