Belper Arts Festival will open on 5^th May with a special concert at St. Peter's Church.

Irish soprano Margaret Keys and Guests will appear in Belper between concerts with Michael Crawford  and Russell Watson. Margaret follows in the footsteps of poet Ian MacMillan and Karen England in appearing at the Belper Festival which is now in its sixth year. Most notably, the Festival saw the appearance of the Kanneh Mason family in the week when Sheku Kanneh Mason was named BBC Young Musician Of The Year.

An alliance of cultural organisations from across England launches a new national body to develop and promote the role of arts and culture in supporting the country’s health and wellbeing (launch 13 March 2018).  

QUAD in Derby presents a new exhibition by Mark Neville, entitled ‘Battle Against Stigma’ which aims to address the stigma of mental health problems in the military. The exhibition is part of FORMAT International Photography Festival Off Year Programme. 

Visitors to Derby College’s Broomfield Hall campus in Morley on Sunday March 18 between 11am and 3pm will have the chance to meet the new-born lambs and other animals who are cared for by students at the College.

Broomfield Hall’s working farm and animal unit will be open throughout the day where visitors can see a wide range of resident animals and exotic species from the new wallabies to reptiles.

Four speakers have been announced to speak at the Guildhall Theatre as part of Derby Book Festival this summer. Andy Kershaw, Professor Robert Winston, Mark Beaumont and Germaine Greer will all be heading to Derby in June to share their knowledge and stories with the Guildhall Theatre audiences. Also as part of Derby Book Festival The People’s Theatre Company will be bringing a family show There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly to the Guildhall Theatre.

There are only 7 days left to get your entries into the Visual Art Open 2018 art competition. If you are a photographer, sculpture, painter, illustrator, digital artist or a young artist applying is quick and easy to do!

Our art competition is a brilliant opportunity to develop your career, you'll gain exposure and confidence in your work. Getting your work seen through competitions is an excellent way to show that you're serious about your artwork and are capable of pursuing a career path as an artist.

Hecate Arts and the Matlock Faritrade Group are holding a fairtrade event in Matlock on 9^th March including a Nightmarket from 6-9pm, we are looking for stallholders selling fairtrade, ethical or locally produced goods. Contact  hecateartsmatlock@gmail.com for further information

Back in 2015, The Derby Conference Centre announced that it was no longer providing wedding services. However, over the past 12 months it has become evident that with the increased volume of enquiries, the people of Derby really miss not being able to tie the knot at this beautiful venue. Which is why the Centre is incredibly proud to announce that from Valentine’s Day, The Derby Conference Centre will once again be returning to the wedding venue market.

Thursday 5th April 

• launch and evening of readings about Ursula, the second Mrs Vaughan Williams - Waltham House 7pm

Friday 6th April 

• Parent and toddler event at the library, 10.30am
• Literary Tour of Renishaw Hall, 2.30 pm (tickets needed via valstacey@mac.com)
• The Real Wordsmiths, talk about the Lakeland Poets - Town Hall, 6.15pm
• ‘The Wordsmiths of Gorsemere’ - Spoof comedy. Town Hall 7.30pm (tickets from Wirksworth Framing Company)
   

Saturday 7th April 

Two riders from Derby Arena based Team KGF have recently been selected to compete on the Great Britain team at the UCI Track World Championships which starts on Wednesday 28 February 2018 in the Netherlands.