Family trail
The Big Hoot
Chichester and Arundel host their first large-scale outdoor art trail, in aid of local children’s hospice Chestnut Tree House. A total of 30 big and 30 small owl sculptures will be swooping into public green spaces, Chichester’s high streets and harbour, and Arundel’s historic town centre during the summer holidays. Each owl is designed by a different artist, with its own story to tell. Collect each owl on the trail app, unlocking rewards from local businesses along the way, or pick up a paper map from the town’s libraries or Chestnut Tree House shops.
Across Chichester and Arundel, until September 1, free, thebighoot.co.uk
Days out
The Power of Plants
The Weald and Downland Living Museum has seven historical gardens exploring plant life from the 16th to the 19th century. This exhibition in the museum’s Longport Gallery uncovers their history and the people who nurtured them – including late former head gardener Bob Holman. Look out for the Black Knight Historical Group as they bless the first fruits of the harvest on August 3-4.
Weald and Downland Living Museum, near Chichester, until August 18, 10am-5pm, from £15.50, children £7.50, wealddown.co.uk
Family trail
Brilliant Brighton Bricks Trail
Sharp-eyed young shoppers should keep their eyes out for 39 hidden Lego Minifigures in the windows of participating city centre shops, cafés, restaurants and salons, for the chance to win one of three prizes – including a Lego set worth up to £79.99.
Across Brighton, until August 18, free, brilliantbrighton.com
Exhibition
Lost in Parys
Worthing artist and disability activist Alison Lapper is best known as the subject of Marc Quinn’s Fourth Plinth sculpture Alison Lapper Pregnant. Sadly, her son Parys died in 2019 following an accidental drugs overdose. Alison’s works incorporating her feelings of love, loss and grief connected to his death are accompanied by pieces from Marc Quinn and photographer Rankin.
Worthing Museum, until September 29, Wed-Sun, from 10am (11am Sun), free, wtm.uk
Days out
Summer of Play
This summer holiday Sussex’s National Trust venues are celebrating the long break with a series of activities based around play. Nymans in Handcross has a play glade and field with active challenges, Sheffield Park and Garden has a new Exotic Spots trail for families to follow, plus stand-up paddleboarding on the lake for the first time. Bodiam Castle, near Robertsbridge, is hosting a medieval fair, complete with knights’ school, and Petworth House has Tudor-themed games. Meanwhile Bateman’s in Burwash is taking inspiration from Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book with a series of games, and Standen in East Grinstead has activities on the lawn and a family trail, costing £3 with a prize at the end.
Sussex National Trust venues, until September 1, free with normal admission charges, nationaltrust.org.uk
Music
86TVs
Former mainstays of indie favourites The Maccabees, Felix and Hugo White are coming back to the city where it all started for them with new musical project 86TVs on the day their self-titled debut album is released. The event will feature both an acoustic performance and record signing, and comes fresh from appearances at the Isle of Wight, Truck and Tramlines Festivals and supporting Noel Gallagher at Alexandra Palace Park.
Resident Records, Brighton, Friday, August 2, 6.30pm, from £11.52, resident-music.com/events
Family
Trouble on Volcano Island: Dinosaur Adventure Live
When an ancient volcano becomes active again it spells trouble for the island’s triceratops, spinosaurus, gigantic T-Rex and cute baby dinosaurs in this hour-long interactive family show.
The Hawth, Crawley, Friday, August 2, 2pm and 4.30pm, from £17.50, parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/the-hawth
Medieval festival
The Loxwood Joust
Join Loxwood’s Queen Helena as she hosts a joust to fill her medieval coffers. There’s a banquet, storytelling, wandering minstrels, workshops, falconry, and live music from Medieval Baebes on the first weekend and Trobar de Morte on the last two weekends. Plus, the final weekend is offering an immersive camping experience with comedy and live music into the night.
Loxwood Meadow, August 3-4, 10-11 and 17-18, 10am-6pm, from £23, £9 children, camping from £45, loxwoodjoust.co.uk
Music
Curtis Stigers
US singer, saxophonist and 1990s chart star Curtis Stigers is playing a one-off Sussex show courtesy of Rye International Jazz and Blues Festival. Best known for his 1991 hits I Wonder Why and You’re All That Matters To Me, Curtis has enjoyed a 30-year career, recording a total of 13 studio albums and a live album of Sinatra songs.
De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, Saturday, August 3, 8pm, from £41, dlwp.com
Festival
Brighton & Hove Pride
The newly reformed Girls Aloud and The Piano star judge Mika headline the two-day Preston Park party this year. Also on the bill are Billy Porter, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, S Club and Gabrielle. For a more grassroots experience there’s the Village Party in Kemp Town – or simply just watch the Pride floats as they thread through the town centre on Saturday morning. Plus look out for more Pride-related activity throughout the city, such as Pride Rock at The Old Market in Hove on Saturday, August 3.
Preston Park, Kemp Town and seafront, Brighton, August 3-4, park tickets from £49.50 per day, village party from £17.50 per day, parade free to watch, brighton-pride.org
Open-air theatre
Illyria on tour
Touring open-air theatre group Illyria are paying three visits to Crawley’s Hawth Amphitheatre this August. Opening the mini season is a performance of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic operetta The Gondoliers on Tuesday, August 6, followed by the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet on Wednesday, August 21, and the light-hearted musical tale of the man who could talk to the animals – Dr Dolittle on Friday, August 30.
The Hawth Amphitheatre, August 6, 21, 30, 7pm, £22, £12 children, parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/the-hawth
Open-air theatre
Weald and Downland Open Air Theatre Season
The open-air museum is welcoming a series of touring theatre productions throughout August, including Immersion Theatre’s take on A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Tuesday, August 6, Quantum Theatre’s retelling of Dickens’ Great Expectations on Friday, August 9, and Beatrix Potter’s timeless Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck on Tuesday, August 13. Also on the bill are adaptations of E Nesbit’s Five Children and It, Quentin Blake’s picture book Angela Sprocket’s Pockets, Peter Pan, As You Like It and The Hound of the Baskervilles.
Weald and Downland Living Museum, August 6-September 1, 5.30pm, £18, £12 children, wealddown.co.uk/whats-on/theatre
Music
The Bookshop Band
Hove bookshop City Books have turned rock promoters, welcoming literary-inspired duo The Bookshop Band, whose music has already wowed The Who’s Pete Townshend. The songwriting legend has produced and played on the pair’s latest album Emerge, Return, which has already received love from BBC Radio 2’s Zoe Ball and Shaun Keaveny.
Ropetackle Arts Centre, Shoreham, Thursday, August 8, 7pm, £15, ropetacklecentre.co.uk
Circus
NoFit State Circus: Sabotage
An addenda to May’s Brighton Festival sees the long-awaited return of NoFit State to the city – this time at the new Black Rock Event site to the east of the seafront. Forget your preconceptions of what a circus is about – this combines stunning acrobatic skills with live music underlaid by a theme about the role of saboteurs in society who challenge the status quo.
Big Top, Black Rock, Madeira Drive, Brighton, August 8-September 1, 7.30pm, 2.30pm and 3pm matinees, from £18.50, nofitstate.org/sabotage
Cinema
Chichester International Film Festival
The 32nd International Film Festival is now under the auspices of Walter Francisco, a long-time programmer of the annual event. The opening screenings at Priory Park, from August 9-11, include the Lego Movie, Wonka, Barbie, Dirty Dancing and the Talking Heads classic Stop Making Sense. For the main event expect a mixture of UK, US and European previews, tributes to Marlon Brando, Greta Gerwig and Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki and an expanded programme of screenings outside the festival’s Chichester’s Cinema in New Park home – including venues in Littlehampton, Havent and Lurgashall.
Various venues, Chichester, August 9-25, see website for times, prices and full line-up which is released on July 24, chichesterfilmfestival.co.uk
Music
WITCH
The band once known as the Zambian Beatles has just released Zango, its first album in almost 40 years. Heralded by a cover of Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody, the Zamrock band has returned after a long hiatus having experienced sometime akin to WITCH-mania in their 1970s heyday, even requiring police protection from fans. And the name? It’s an acronym for We Intend To Cause Havoc.
The Hope and Ruin, Brighton, Friday, August 9, 7.30pm, Saturday, August 10, noon, £28.05, hope.pub
Musical
Grease the Musical
A summer romance suddenly becomes real when the sweet and naive Sandy transfers to Rydell High and discovers her beau Danny is the leader of the leather-clad T-Birds. This grittier version is directed by Nikolai Foster with choreography from former Strictly judge Arlene Phillips.
Congress Theatre, Eastbourne, August 12-17, 7.30pm, 2.30pm matinees Thurs and Sat, from £26, eastbournetheatres.co.uk
Family
Airbourne: Eastbourne International Airshow
The Red Arrows, RAF Typhoon and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight dodge the clouds to help mark the free airshow’s 30th anniversary. As ever there are plenty of attractions on the ground too, including military exhibitions, fairground rides and food and gift shopping along the promenade.
Across Eastbourne, August 15-18, noon-5pm, free, eastbourneairshow.com
Music
Devendra Banhart
The soaring acoustics of St George’s Church should be a perfect match for this freakfolk pioneer in a one-off Brighton show. The singer-songwriter broke through in the UK in 2005 with his fifth album Cripple Crow, and has enjoyed a parallel career as a visual artist.
St George’s Church, Brighton, Thursday, August 15, doors 7pm, from £30, meltingvinyl.co.uk
Festival
Arundel Festival of the Arts 2024
Now in its 46th year, Arundel’s annual arts festival displays the creative talent contained within its streets. Old favourites such as the arts and theatre trail are likely to return, plus street entertainment and a series of lectures and intimate performances in living rooms. Arundel Castle is an extra pull too, hosting an open-air Romeo and Juliet in the Earl’s Garden on Friday 16 and Saturday 17, plus a Festival of History over the bank holiday weekend.
Across Arundel, August 16-26, various times and prices, arundelfestival.co.uk
Food & drink
Good Food Festival
Now in its third year Goodwood’s celebration of food brings together chefs, producers and food influencers from across the UK, including Great British Bake Off stars Ruby Bhogal and Crystelle Pereira, gluten-free blogger Becky Excell, Jane Dunn of Jane’s Patisserie, vegan baker Philip Khoury and BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Sian Anderson. Plus there’s a Good Food Market and Street Food Village to feed your sharpened appetite.
Goodwood Racecourse, August 16-18, Fri/Sun 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-5.30pm, £12.50, children £3, under-12s free, goodfoodshow.com/goodwood-festival
Music
Explosions in the Sky
Riding the wave of post-rock bands that came around at the end of the 1990s, Texan four-piece Explosions in the Sky specialises in moody and heavily dynamic instrumental pieces, as heard on latest album End.
Chalk, Brighton, Friday, August 16, doors 6pm, £35, meltingvinyl.co.uk
Musical
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Adam Garcia, Emmerdale’s Liam Fox and EastEnder Charlie Brooks head up the cast in this touring version of the West End favourite packed with songs by the Sherman Brothers. It tells the story of inventor Caractacus Potts’ wooing of the beautiful Truly Scrumptious assisted by the titular fine four-fendered friend, whose ability to fly and sail also attracts the attention of a spoilt baron.
The Hawth, Crawley, August 20-25, 7pm (not Sun), 2pm (Wed, Sat/Sun), from £30, parkwoodtheatres.co.uk/the-hawth
Music
Hamish Hawk
To mark the release of his fifth album, A Firmer Hand, Edinburgh’s Hamish Hawk will be playing an in-store show and doing a signing. Hamish’s sound combines electronica and chamber pop with a literate lyrical viewpoint delivered in a deep baritone.
Resident, Brighton, Thursday, August 22, 6.30pm, from £11.52, resident-music.com/events
Family theatre
Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of Ghosts
Kevin and Katie Tsang’s best-selling 2018 book is brought to the stage by Polka Theatre in a production suitable for six to 12-year-olds. When a trip to the Space Museum goes wrong, scaredy-cat Sam Wu launches a mission to prove he’s a fearless space adventurer.
Pavilion Theatre, Worthing, August 22-25, 11am and 2pm (Sat 10am and 1.30pm), from £13.50, wtm.uk
Theatre
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
The 1963 espionage novel which made the late John le Carré’s name will be his first adapted for the stage. Jeremy Herrin directs this tale of desperation and double-crossing, as disillusioned British spy Alec is persuaded to take part in a risky operation against the East German Secret Service.
Minerva Theatre, Chichester, August 23-September 21, 7.15pm, 2.15pm matinees, from £10, cft.org.uk
Stage
Cirque: The Greatest Show
Broadway meets the big top in this combination of musical theatre and acrobatic skills.
Brighton Centre, Saturday, August 24, 1.30pm and 6.30pm, see website for tickets, brightoncentre.co.uk
Comedy
Ben Elton – Authentic Stupidity
A rare chance to see the motormouth alternative comedy pioneer and co-creator of The Young Ones in an intimate space. The same show is set to come to Crawley, Hastings, Worthing and Brighton in the autumn.
Chequer Mead Arts Centre, East Grinstead, Sunday, August 25, 7.30pm, £29.50, chequermead.co.uk
Family theatre
The Caterpillar and the Blackbird
Penned by author of the Pegasus series Kate O’Hearn and directed by Tom Dwyer, this kids’ musical is based around a father’s attempts to get his young daughter to eat her greens by telling her a story about an unlikely friendship.
De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill, Wednesday, August 28, 1pm and 4pm, £16.50, dlwp.com
Family concert
Pop Party
Can’t afford to take the kids on stadium and arena shows by Taylor Swift, Little Mix and Harry Styles? Hear the songs they made famous – plus plenty of other trending TikTok hits - in this live show aimed at young music fans.
Chequer Mead Arts Centre, East Grinstead, Thursday, August 29, 2pm, £16, chequermead.co.uk
Music
David Essex
The singer, composer and actor’s first tour since 2022 will see him draw on five decades of hits, from his career-making Rock On to the likes of Hold Me Close and Gonna Make You A Star.
Brighton Centre, Friday, August 30, doors 6.30pm, visit the website for tickets, brightoncentre.co.uk
