News Free weekend summer fun and entertainment in Maidstone
Maidstone Town Centre will come alive every weekend this summer as a host of performers and musicians take to the streets providing free entertainment on Saturdays and a series of jazz and brass bands perform in Brenchley Gardens on Sundays.
Maidstone Borough Council has worked with Cohesion Plus to provide the Saturday performances in Jubilee Square and other locations around the town centre between 10am and 2pm. Starting on Saturday 20 July, ‘The Maidstone Summer Series’ will run for six weeks throughout the summer, finishing on Saturday 24 August.
Each Saturday a variety of street performers, many usually seen in Covent Garden, will entertain crowds in the town centre for free, with jugglers, magicians, acrobats and wonderful music from local bands and musicians.
Relax in Maidstone’s Brenchley Gardens each Sunday listening to jazz and brass bands free of charge between 3pm - 5pm, bring a picnic, sit back and relax. The concerts are produced by Kent Arts & Wellbeing, on behalf of Maidstone Borough Council. They start on Sunday 21 July and run until Sunday 1 September on the Victorian Bandstand in the gardens set in the heart of the town centre.
Deckchairs will be available for use during the concerts and are offered on a first come first served basis.
Saturday entertainment:
The fun starts on Saturday 20 July when there will be performances from singer, Tamara Tracey, magic and comedy from Sergio Barros, with Tom Balmont performing circus skills and comedy.
Crowds will be wowed on Saturday 27 July as Spikey Will performs on a bed of nails, with acrobatics from Juma Kuba and music from Jason Allen.
On Saturday 3 August sword swallower Heavy Metal Pete will be entertaining visitors in the town centre along with Richard Filby, juggler and rola bola with music from Dirk Wickenden and Tanga Pase Trio.
Fantastic street dancer Lorand Karbula will perform on Saturday 10 August, along with juggler Young Harvey and music by Summer Salter.
A brilliant original puppet show on Saturday 17 August will be performed by Richard Hadley, with The Chaplin Show and music from Ebonie G.
The summer series finishes on Saturday 24 August with The Tom Show circus and comedy performances and juggler Nick Malinowski. A fabulous ABBA duo will be providing the music.
Sunday Bandstand concerts:
Sunday 21 July – East Peckham Silver Band - Friendly and thriving Silver band, boasts the title of the oldest surviving village band in Kent.
Sunday 28 July – Invicta Jazz Orchestra – Playing jazz classics and modern pop and rock hits, a jazzy big band sound with classics by Glenn Miller and Count Basie, Miles Davis and Maynard Ferguson.
Sunday 4 August – Marconi Brass - the Rochester-based band plays an extensive repertoire in a wide range of musical styles.
Sunday 11 August – Gravesend Borough Band - a community concert band of around 30 players of all ages. The musical repertoire includes selections and themes from shows and films, and popular light music.
Sunday 18 August – Sevenoaks & Tonbridge Concert Band - a symphonic wind band with music including original works to arrangements of orchestral pieces, musical theatre and film scores, traditional military band items and light music of various styles.
Sunday 25 August – Mainly Sax – five-piece jazz quartet playing wonderful jazz standards.
Sunday 1 September – Jon Hamilton Big Band - regular instrumentalists and vocalists with music from a huge range of styles, from the classics to relative unknowns.
Entry to all of the events is completely free of charge. Full details can be found in the ‘What’s On’ listings on the Visit Maidstone website: www.visitmaidstone.com