Front cover by Mike Ray
Claygate Flower & Village Show
- July 13
This much-loved community fair is back with a grand marquee full of the best sausage rolls, hanging baskets, photos and collages, as well as a dog show, children’s races, classic cars, face painting and music and dance shows.
On your bike
- July 13, 1.30-5.30pm
- Beverley Park, New Malden
New Malden Velo Cycle Club celebrates its 10th anniversary with a free event for the local community in Beverley Park on Saturday July 13 with live music and many bike-related activities, including maintenance demos and safety tips. Bring a picnic, chat with members and tuck into some very tasty cake from Lake-Thomas cakes.
Wow Fest
- July 20 and 21
- Tickets: £24.60 (adults), £12.30 (kids over 5), under 5s free
Health and wellbeing festival, Wisdom on Wellness, comes to a new location this year at West Horsley Place, with talks, live music, eco stalls, creative activities, forest bathing, sound healing, yoga, ecstatic dance, mindfulness, meditation and more.
The Great Hedgehog Fest
- July 5 and 6, 12-5pm
Students from Kingston University together with local streetwear brand, Urban Rose, will be bringing hedgehog safety to the fore with a family-friendly awareness day in Kingston marketplace, hosting games, workshops, entertainment and a mini market.
A Grand Night of Singing
- July 6, tickets £15, (under 12s free)
- St. James’ Parish Church, Weybridge
Treble Clef Choir celebrates its 35th anniversary with special guests, The Weybridge Male Voice Choir.
Hampton Court Flower Show
- July 2-7 (RHS Members’ Days July 2-3)
- Tickets from £30.85
RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival bursts into bloom with garden designs, floral displays, talks, workshops, demos and expert gardening tips from TV favourites like Carol Klein and Adam Frost. New this year is a Houseplant Market with the latest trends in indoor gardening and a How to Stage theatre with garden podcaster Mike Palmer.
Surrey Bach Festival
- July 11-14
This new classical musical festival brings international performers to St Mary’s Church in Stoke D’Abernon for four days of top-quality music. Artists include acclaimed harpsichordist and conductor Steven Devine, fringe opera’s Istante Opera and vocal ensemble The Queenes Chappell. There will also be lunchtime concerts for school-age musicians to gain performance skills and a Come and Sing Day that anyone can participate in.
Live at Loseley
A new outdoor summer concert series featuring top West End stars such as Aimie Atkinson and Carrie Hope Fletcher will come to Guildford’s Loseley Park early next month. We have six tickets for The Best of Frankie Valli on Friday, August 2, or a VIP experience for four people for Movie Soundtracks, led by the 32-piece Bourne Movies Orchestra on Sunday, August 4. The VIP experience includes front-row locations and two bottles of Prosecco. Enter here before July 25.
Winning art
- July 1-15
A new exhibition of fine art and wood wall decorations by father-daughter creatives ProDan Tanev and Irina Taneva opens at Molesey’s Winning Gallery. See more @winning_gallery on Instagram.
Molesey Regatta
- July 20 and 21
With a long and proud history dating back to 1867, this Hurst Meadows event attracts over 2,000 rowers from clubs nationwide. There’s plenty to enjoy on the bank, too, with live music each day from noon, a BBQ, tea tent, face painting, circus and ukulele workshops, and a special music performance on Saturday evening. Entry is free – just come and enjoy!
Family theatre at Kew
RBG Kew will be ablaze with fairies and riverbank creatures this month as the Australian Shakespeare Company’s outdoor summer shows open on July 19/20, running until Sept 1. We have two free family tickets worth £80 each to either Dream Fairies – Adventure through Bubble Land (Tues-Sun10.30am, Fri/Sat 2pm) or The Wind in the Willows (Tues-Sun 11am; Thurs-Sat 2.30pm). Enter the competition here.
Golden age
- July 6; 3pm
- Tickets: £15
The Leatherhead Choral Society, conducted by Ian Assersohn, is staging a concert at the Lighthouse in Leatherhead, entitled The Great American Songbook celebrating a plethora of music from the golden age of American music.
All that jazz
- July 7; 4pm
- Tickets from £15
Head to St Nicolas’ Church in Bookham for its Choral Society’s summer concert. Conducted by Elliot Mercer, it includes the Songs and Sonnets of jazz composer George Shearing and a set of Birthday Madrigals by John Rutter.
Hear all about it
- July 19: 7pm-8.30 pm
- Tickets: £12 (includes glass of wine)
Join award-winning local writer Alice Fowler at the Guildford Institute as she discusses the incredible year since her debut collection of short stories, The Truth Has Arms and Legs, was published. Sit back with a glass of wine while Alice reads new and published work and hears how a collection of short stories comes to life.
Pedal power
- July 13; 6pm-9pm
- Tickets: £18 (children, £14)
Bike-based theatre group the Handlebards brings its cycling Shakespeare troupe to Painshill near Cobham to perform A Comedy of Errors.
On song
- July 13; 7pm
- Tickets: donations welcome
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Liz Simcock will be performing her mix of autobiographical, poetry-filled numbers at Holy Trinity Church in Guildford, with all proceeds from the concert going to support North Guildford Food Bank.
Romeo & Juliet
- Until July 13
- Tickets £28.50/17.50
Love bursts into life on Guildford High Street this month in the GSC’s promenade version of the ill-fated lovers. Starting on the steps of Holy Trinity, audiences will follow the story across seven locations.
On July 3, GSC will host a knife crime awareness evening with a talk by Martin Cosser, father of Charlie, who was killed at the age of 17 at a house party in Surrey in 2023.
One foot in the past
- July 17; 10.30am-12.30pm
- Tickets: £6
Step back in time with this Nonsuch Park and Palace Walk, part of the CBA Festival of Archaeology. Enjoy a stroll around the site and learn about the many battles that took place here and which TV presenter’s ancestors used to reside in this luxurious setting.
