Fun & free community weekend festival: when & where is the free event in Birmingham? - full list

A fun and exciting festival across the West Midlands is set to return for the first time since the pandemic.

The Mayor’s Community Weekend will take place on September 9 and 10 and it will be a weekend of community-led activity across Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry and other towns and cities in West Midlands.

A partnership between Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) and The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK, the event will be a family-friendly celebration of the strength and diversity of West Midlands’ communities.

Communities across the region were invited to apply for grants between £500 and £2,000, to host activities and the celebrations take place this weekend. The events will see people from all backgrounds strengthening existing connections and giving them opportunities to make new ones.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands and WMCA Chair, said: “We know just what a remarkable source of strength our region’s diverse communities continue to be.

“That’s why I’m so pleased that – after a Covid induced hiatus – the Mayor’s Community Weekend is back. Coming up this Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th September – in conjunction with The National Lottery Community Fund – we’ve provided grassroots grants ranging from £500 to £2,000 to all areas of the West Midlands.

“This will be a wonderful opportunity for local people to come together - celebrating community spirit at its very best. I cannot wait to see it all in action.”

Complete itinerary of Mayor’s Community Weekend

Saturday 9^th September 2023:

• 10am - 10:30am:A Family Fun Day Picnic,Cheylesmore Association, Coventry, West Midlands, CV3 5JX
• 11am - 11:30am: Let’s Celebrate, The Snooty Pooch CIC 50 Drury Arcade, Solihull, B91 3BH
• 12:30pm - 13:15pm: Martineau Gardens Autumn Celebration, Martineau Gardens, 27 Priory Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B5 7UG
• 2pm - 3pm: Masamune Dojo Voices of Yardley, St Edburgh’s Parish Church Hall, Church Road, Yardley, Birmingham B33 8PD
• 3:30pm- 4:30pm: Birchfield Jazz and Heritage Community Celebration, United Reform Church 13 Wilton Road, Handsworth B20 3RX
• 5:10pm – 5:40pm: Black British Book Festival Book Tour, Wolverhampton Art Gallery, Lichfield St, Wolverhampton, WV1 1DU
• 6:30pm – finish at 19:15: Windrush-NHS Supper and Dance, Balsall Heath Church Centre, 100 Mary St, Balsall Heath, Birmingham, B12 9JU

Sunday 10^th September 2023:

• 10:30am- 11:15am: Black Country Radio, Merry Hill Shopping Centre, Dudley
• 12:00 – 12:30: Aaina/Iqra Supplimentary School, Caldmore Community Garden, 12 Carless St, Walsall WS1 3RH
• 13:00 – 13:45: Community Garden Party, St. Chads Vicarage, Manlove Street, Wolverhampton, West Midlands, WV3 0HG
• 2:15 – 2:45: Unity in the Community, Lea Hall Allotments & Institute, 40 Wood Lane Birmingham B20 2AP

Earlier this summer, The National Lottery Community Fund unveiled its new seven-year strategy, ‘It starts with community’, which will underpin its efforts to distribute £4 billion of funding by 2030 – with a focus on four key missions: to support communities to come together; be environmentally sustainable; help children and young people thrive and enable people to live healthier lives.