Our guide to events in and around Lancashire.
July 23 – Aug 8
Dino Kingdom
The team behind the award-winning light and lantern festival Lightopia presents the Dino Kingdom. An outdoor, prehistoric exploration, featuring more than 100 life-like moving and roaring dinosaurs and creatures to uncover, plus state-of-the-art 3D and AR technology bringing dinosaurs back to life with unforgettable interactive experiences. dinokingdom.com
From July 24
Lucian Freud: Real Lives
This summer, Tate Liverpool will present Lucian Freud’s artworks, for the first in the North West in over thirty years. Widely considered a master of modern portraiture, Freud was an artist who continued to expand his exploration of paint throughout his career. This exhibition will feature some of the artist’s most iconic paintings and etchings, as well as photographs that provide an intimate glimpse into his life. tate.org.uk/liverpool
August 4 –31
The Craftsmen at the Priory exhibition
The Craftsmen at the Priory exhibition and sale is returning to the Dacre Hall at Lanercost Priory, with 14 artists and designers taking part. Celebrating the quality and variety of contemporary craft and creativity, you’ll find everything from basketwork to metalwork, ceramics to textiles, jewellery to woodwork, and more. cumbriacrafts.co.uk
August 14
Prestfest
Promoting Preston’s nighttime economy and the city’s Purple Flag award for a safe and vibrant night out, the evening event will see international performers take to the stage. Performers include world-renowned DJ and producer Todd Terry, Ibiza favourite, StoneBridge, house music pioneers, The Shapeshifters, all supported by local DJs. There is also a daytime programme, ‘Prestfest for Families’, which will take place in the afternoon and is free to attend. prestfest.live
August 17-21
Heathers: The Musical
The popular black comedy and rock musical based on the 1988 film of the same name is back and sees a young teenager taken under the wings of the three beautiful and impossibly cruel Heathers. The perfect musical for teenagers and families to enjoy. atgtickets.com
Until August 20
Synergy by Preston Threads
An exhibition celebrating Lancashire’s mill heritage has opened at the University of Central Lancashire. There will be ten pieces of work on display, each inspired by a different mill and its history. The artists learned about inspirational characters, such as Edith Carnie Holdsworth from Oswaldtwistle, as well as societal issues, including supporting cotton slave workers in the United States and documenting the many accidents caused by poor working conditions. prestonthreads.co.uk
August 19-20,
Liverpool International Tennis
The list of players who have appeared at the Liverpool International Tennis event reads like a who’s who of the game. Novak Djokovic, Marat Safin, Martina Hingis, Goran Ivanisevic, Martina Navratilova, John McEnroe, Caroline Wozniacki, and many more have graced the annual tournament since it began in 2002.
The event - which is played at Liverpool Cricket Club - is usually held in the run-up to the Wimbledon Championships, but will this year take place as players prepare for the US Open.
liverpooltennis.co.uk
Until August 22
Grimm Tales: Witches, Wolves, Fairies and Frogs
Lancaster’s Williamson Park is the spellbinding setting for fairy tales to be told as the audience follow the drama by moving from one location to another. The magical journey will take you through a world of witches, wizards, fairies and frogs in this fun and fresh adaptation of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales. dukeslancaster.org
August 22
HMS Pinafore
Open-air touring specialists, Illyria celebrate their 30th year with their production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s popular comic opera. The versatile cast of six contrives to be all the characters including Sir Joseph Porter, First Lord of the Admiralty, his sisters, his cousins and his aunts. lythamhall.org.uk
August 29
At Home with the Pankhurst Family
A new permanent exhibition is set to open at Manchester’s Pankhurst Centre. Get to know the people behind the iconic Pankhurst name; their lives, influences, tragedies, resourcefulness and the factors that turned them into the campaigners that they became. pankhurstMuseum.com
August 29
Alexander O’Neal and Shalamar
Soul legends Alexander O’Neal, Shalamar, Gwen Dickey (Rose Royce) and Odyssey come to Blackburn’s, King George’s Hall, for one night only. RnB Legend and Northern Soul singer, Alexander O’Neal will be performing his popular hits including Criticize and Fake – perfect for soul music fans. bwdvenues.com
