2012

Letchworth Garden City will be alive with events this summer as we celebrate the arrival of the Olympic Torch, the Jubilee and, of course, the return of the wonderful Letchworth Festival.

The Letchworth Food and Garden Festival takes over the town centre on Saturday May 19th and Sunday May 20th 2012 with local food heroes showcasing the best produce from the region in our market place, talented chefs cooking up inspirational meals at our demonstration kitchens, and a fantastic range of hot and tasty food to fill up your tums.

Spring Clean Letchworth is back for its annual litter picker-thon! Join in with teams from around the town or form one yourself with friends and family, your school, your workplace, or your community group and pick up litter from residential streets, recreation grounds and parks.

Meet best selling author Marina Lewycka as she talks about and signs her new book, Various Pets Alive & Dead, at David's Bookshop. Read on for details of her latest novel. 

 Most normal parents, you’d think, would be pleased to have a son not yet thirty and earning ninety grand a year. But not Doro and Marcus. They’d consider it the ultimate betrayal of his ideals, meaning their ideals, because Serge doesn’t claim to have any ideals apart from a vague general sense of goodwill towards mankind. And womankind. Especially Maroushka.

Join us to celebrate the official opening of Howard Park and Gardens in the heart of the world's first Garden City.

From 12.30 experience vintage funfair rides, Groundwork's Spots v Stripes games, NHDC play rangers, face painting plus music and dance by local performers.

Angelic sounds of The Pixmore and Hillshott School Choir

Fantastic Motown Covers from The International Sweethearts of Soul,

Letchworth's very own Samba Drummers Garden City Samba

Indie Band, with a hint of Red Hot Chilli Peppers about them Easylies

The fourth annual Big Lunch will fall on the same weekend as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. So anyone who would like to celebrate and commemorate the Queen’s 60 year reign can do so by joining us at our Big Jubilee Lunch!

As announced by Buckingham Palace The Big Jubilee Lunch will be a part of the main programme of events over the central weekend of Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June 2012.

Letchworth Town Centre comes alive with a feast of family fun on Saturday June 9th. 

Enjoy the best of the North Herts live music scene at the SX Music/ London Road Studios stage, watch fantastic performances from local school and community groups at the Leys Square performance stage, and marvel at our very special out of town visitor all the way from the Late Jurassic period!

With buskers, stalls to browse, and tempting food concessions lining the streets Street Fest promises to be packed full of fun activities for the whole family. Do drop by and say hi.

The Letchworth Festival has become so popular that there are now over 100 events listed across the two weeks of Festival Fortnight. Including the Street Fest, Day of Dance and Proms in the Park it promises to once again, be the jewel in the crown of the town's events calendar.

Visit http://www.letchworthfestival.org for more details

SATURDAY 16 - 5 gardens open in Highfield 2-5pm.

SUNDAY 17 - all 23 gardens open 11am-5pm.

Refreshments, plant stalls, live music by Shades of Palm Court

NEW THIS YEAR! Free Park and Ride will operate on Sunday from the Spirella car park. Two Heritage minibuses will tour the gardens approx. every 30 mins. (minibus stops along the route are marked on the ticket map). Go “carless" and be eligible to win a £15 Pioneer Nurseries Voucher.

Day 51 of the Olympic Torch procession is from Cambridge to Luton and includes Letchworth Garden City. The route map is shown below, reproduced from london2012.com and is as follows:

Norton Road
Norton Way North
Station Road
Eastcheap
Gernon Road
Norton Way South
Pixmore Way

After the procession, which will be from approx 11:00, you can join everyone at 'It's a knockout - Letchworth'

Letchworth will be buzzing from the visit of the Olympic Torch to the town - so all that energy will need to be released - and what better way to do that but in a sumo suit, or on the rodeo bull, or the assault course, bungee run or just through laughing at everyone else making fools of themselves !!

The Letchworth Morris celebrate their 90th anniversary this year. Join them in a massed display of morris dancing from midday. Location and further details to follow.

Enjoy a fantastic collection of hot rods and classic scooters in Letchworth Town Centre on Saturday 14th July. More details to follow.

Organised by the Letchworth Town Centre Partnership.

The Lions annual Fun Day returns to Broadway Gardens on Saturday 21st July. Highlights include a fun family dog show courtesy of R.A.T.S, fun fair rides, dance displays, a fire engine, retails and charity stalls and welly wamming! 

The fun starts at 10am and the Fun Day runs to 4pm. 

Raise money for your local charities, and see how far you can wam your welly!

Our popular open air concert to end the Festival will this year be the best ever. All Letchworth's secondary schools will be taking part, together with musicians from North Herts College's Academy, two choirs and different instrumentalists and dancers. In the newly renovated Howard Park, small children can paddle while older ones enjoy the sounds. There will be refreshments including ice cream and a range of side stalls.

Discover and celebrate Letchworth life in the heart of the Town Centre. With demonstrations by local organisations and a chance to have a go, get involved with what Letchworth has to offer. Enjoy dance demonstrations from local groups including Zumba, St Andrew’s Ceilidh, Horizon and The Azimuth Tribal Style, Bellydance, Rodney's Dance School, Raqs Sharqi, Ceroc, Flexit Dance Academy, Ramrugge Clog Morris.

Fun starts at 10am and continues until 4pm in Leys Square.

Organised as part of the Letchworth Festival which runs from 8th June to 24th June.

Come into Letchworth Town Centre for a fabulous free Town Centre celebration day and enjoy a packed programme of fun activities. 

Take a trail through the Town Centre from Garden Square to Leys Square then ono the Wynd, Staion Road, Arcade triangle. Look out for the Lethworth Morris Men and North Herts College street entertainers en route. Enjoy family fun and activities organised by local businesses and retailers. Get off the beaten track and explore a different side of Letchworth Town Centre with local treasures just waiting to be discovered.