Plenty of excitement went down in Birmingham in July, but the summer fun doesn’t stop there. The sunny month of August (hopefully) has got plenty in store to keep you entertained. From the FRIENDS™ Experience to the UK’s biggest chicken wing festival, Birmingham isn’t short of things to do this August!
1. Head to The FRIENDS™ Experience in Birmingham with your besties
Oh. My. God! It may not have been your day, week or month, but The FRIENDS™ Experience is sure to make your year. Having opened its purple door at the NEC in Birmingham, this immersive experience features interactive sets, original props and familiar costumes. Relive your favourite scenes on recreated sets such as Monica’s immaculate kitchen, Joey and Chandler’s apartment, the gang’s favourite haunt Central Perk, and of course, the FRIENDS™ fountain. Get your tickets to The FRIENDS™ Experience by heading here.
2. Celebrate Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games legacy with this 10-day festival
Last year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham was a blast! This month until (July 28 to August 6) Birmingham Festival 2023 will let Brummies relive the sporting fever. Taking place in Centenary Square, the outdoor free festival will echo the city-centre experience of the Commonwealth Games 2022. Across 10 days, Birmingham Festival 2023 will reflect the diversity of Birmingham with live music and performances, creative and participatory activities, and big-screen content. To learn more head here.
3. Take a psychedelic adventure with Pink Floyd’s music at this candlelight concert
Hey You, you’ll Wish You Were Here at this Candlelight concert this August. A string quartet will perform at The Great Gig In The Sky (or Birmingham Botanical Gardens as you may prefer to call it) on August 11. Performing the classics of Pink Floyd under the gentle glow of candlelight. Expect renditions of Comfortably Numb, Another Brick In The Wall and Shine On You Crazy Diamond. To get your tickets to this magical event head here.
4. Stuff your face at the world’s largest chicken wing festival
The world’s largest chicken wing festival is returning to Birmingham. Wing Fest pays homage to one of the top poultry dishes. Taking place on August 25 – 27 at The Bond in Digbeth, the huge outdoor area will be transformed into a poultry eating, music thumping, axe throwing, beer and bourbon drinking space of epic proportion. A range of restaurants, street food traders and pop-ups will compete for the ultimate prize too.
5. Head to Birmingham Weekender
Taking over the heart of the city during August Bank Holiday Weekend (Saturday 26 & Sunday 27 August), Birmingham Weekender brings colourful installations, interactive experiences and energetic performances to the centre. Head down to Bullring & Grand Central and in the Hippodrome’s home district of Southside to see the likes of a giant swing set, sensory inflatable walk-through and 3D street art. But Birmingham will be full of everything from life-sized retro arcade games to community-based escape rooms, silent disco walking tours and jaw-dropping performances. To learn more head here.
6. Stay overnight at these wild Lion Lodges
Take a sleep on the wild side, West Midland Safari Park has officially opened its Lion Lodges. Designed to give you an “up-close and immersive overnight wildlife experience like no other,” you can spend the night nearby the safari park’s pride of lions. There are four one-storey lodges to book, which can sleep up to six people, situated in the lions’ new habitat. Providing panoramic views of the enclosure. So you don’t miss a single bit of the action and help you sleep with one eye open. Learn more here.
7. Visit the Black Country Living Museum’s new 1960s-inspired high street
At the Black Country Living Museum, you’ll find a slice of West Midland’s life like it was 200 years. This open-air museum offers visitors the chance to experience the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of the Black Country from the Industrial Revolution to post-war prosperity. It has recently expanded its unique immersive storytelling experience, however, with the launch of its new 1940s-60s high street. It recreates the hustle and bustle of the busy high street with five brand-new shops. Experience multiple stories of ordinary people and objects that impacted people’s daily lives, as well as broader societal changes, such as the impact of post-war prosperity, migration and ‘the rise of the teenager’.
8. Go greased lightnin’ with Secret Cinema’s Birmingham debut
It’s automatic, it’s systematic, it’s hydromatic, why it’s greased lightnin’! Secret Cinema make its Birmingham debut this summer bringing the much-loved musical Grease to life for a UK premiere. Grease: The Live Experience will provide an outdoor spectacle like no other as Rydell High comes to Outdoors at the NEC (until August 13). Fans can sing and dance their hearts to the film’s classic soundtrack, roam the corridors with the Pink Ladies, watch the T-Birds at work in the auto shop, or face off against the jocks on the sports field. All before audiences will be treated to an enhanced screening of the much-loved musical film. Learn more here.
9. Dine at Carters Of Moseley’s new summer location
Brad and the rest of the team at Carters of Moseley are on the move this month. Heading to Evesham for three months, they’ll set up in the glasshouses of one of its key suppliers, Westlands UK, until September. Where they’ll be surrounded by living herbs, flowers and fauna, and guests can enjoy nine unique servings inspired by the area’s natural bounty and Carter’s ethos of ‘ultra-British seasonality’. Learn more here.
10. Check out Birmingham’s cheapest pubs
Everyone’s on the lookout for a bargain these days. Luckily, this handy map is providing us with a guide to some of Birmingham’s cheapest pubs. Most are right bang in the centre, with a few found further afield, but all are good, friendly and within walking distance of each other. Highlights include The Tap & Spile, with its Cask Tuesday dropping all casks to the price of £3.25, and another traditional pub Sacks of Potatoes. But it’s not all old-man pubs either with O’Neill’s, Subside and The Dragon Inn also featuring. To see the map of Birmingham’s budget pubs head here.
11. Listen to the music of Zelda at this candlelight concert
One of the most unique Candlelight concerts so far, fans of video games will be able to experience the music of Zelda under the gentle glow of candlelight. All the while immersed in a stunning, candlelit environment that is at Birmingham Cathedral St Philips. Whether you’ve been a fan since the NES or are a more recent convert thanks to Breath of the Wild, this is Candlelight concert for you. Tickets are on sale here.
12. Try this new Italian bottomless brunch with endless limoncello sangria, pizza and pasta
If there’s one thing we can’t get enough of here in Birmingham, it’s a boozy bottomless brunch, but Gusto might have outdone them all with the recent introduction of its Italian-inspired bottomless brunch. For just £37 per person, the menu offers two courses, including pasta and pizzas, and bottomless cocktails and prosecco. To learn more head here.
13. Go on a day trip to one of these fantastic flower farms
We’re so lucky in England to have such varied landscapes, from meadows to forests, and rolling hills to sandy beaches. This varied terrain provides the perfect place for so many different kinds of flowers and foliage to grow and bloom, and there’s nothing more relaxing than sitting by a stunning field of flowers. With so many of us opting to holiday in the UK this year, there’s no better time to visit these gorgeous flower fields, so we’ve compiled a list of our favourite flowery spots in the UK at which you can take some time out and enjoy the natural world.