Derby College has launched a summer programme of fun seasonal courses aimed at adults and children.

The daytime class programme includes pottery for children and then adults, theatre skills for aged ten to 15 and then 16 and above. Evening courses are then available in cycle maintenance and repairs, holiday Spanish and sewing.

Prices start from £12 for the short course and a new programme will launch in September with a wider range of Learning for Leisure courses at campuses in Derby and Ilkeston.

Gentle giants of the horse world will be shown in all their glory at a Shire Horse Open Day in Derbyshire next month.

The Derbyshire Shire Horse Association Show will be held at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, near Duffield – the home of Croots Farm Shop.

 A successful Buxton Fringe concluded on Sunday July 24th with the eagerly-awaited Awards Ceremony at the Old Clubhouse.

Derbyshire-based performers are being invited to apply to be part of the tenth annual Derby Festé which will return to the city centre on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 September with a packed programme of spectacular family entertainment.

St. Margaret’s Church and CARE are once again celebrating summer with their traditional Fete held on Carsington Village Green on Saturday 16th July from 2.00pm through to the evening.

The day is jam packed with stalls including a tombola, tuck shop, plant stall, splat-the rat, coconut shy and face painting to name a few. Teas and coffees will be served in St. Margaret’s Church with a delicious selection of cakes available to eat and take away. A licensed bar and BBQ are also available on the Green.

Popular craft activities for children will be run at Croots Farm Shop in Derbyshire during August.

The fun sessions will be held from 10am to 4pm on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 1st to 31st August as part of the store’s programme of events. The perfect way to help keep kids entertained during the summer holidays, the sessions are themed around the farm and countryside and include creating farm animal pompoms, bee and butterfly weaving, and making corn kernel mosaics.

Representatives from businesses in Derby’s St Peters Quarter Business Improvement District (BID) joined together recently for the last early morning Tidy Up event before the results for the proposed renewal of the BID are announced.

Businesses across St Peters Quarter, which is the core retail area between the Cathedral Quarter and Intu Derby shopping centre, are currently voting on a revised business plan with the results due to be announced on Friday July 22.

July

The Same Sky – A Musical
Songs & Music by Phil Baggaley – Story by Tim Harvey

From songwriter Phil Baggaley and author Tim Harvey comes the premier of a brand new musical. Set in the Nottinghamshire Coalfields against the backdrop of WW1, Billy, a poor miner and Eileen the pit owner’s daughter are passionately in love. Forced apart by the Great War will their love survive? A story of love, loss and reconciliation told with movingly beautiful songs.

Tue 28 Jun – Sat 2 Jul  - Guildhall Theatre

£15

Come and see a life affirming comedy this month when Tideswell Community Players perform Cheshire Cats by Gail Young in the parish church.

A group of women decide to enter a famous charity walk to raise money for breast cancer research while also enjoying a girly weekend away in London. So it's on with trainers, fancy costumes and decorated bras as they aim to speedwalk their way to fundraising success. But there are a few surprises along the way and an unusual last minute change to the team.

The Handsworth Sword Dancers are to perform at StarDisc, Wirksworth, on Sunday 10th July from 1-2pm, a free outdoor event and everyone is welcome.