You don’t always need to head into Birmingham city centre to find something interesting to do. Just a few miles away, Solihull is heading into autumn with a surprisingly busy calendar of food, live music, theatre, family entertainment and outdoor events.
From a three-day celebration taking over the town centre to aerial dance in Tudor Grange Park and some big nights at The Core, there’s plenty worth putting in the diary.
Solihull Food & Harvest Festival
Friday 25th – Sunday 27th September | Solihull town centre | Free
One of the biggest dates on Solihull’s autumn calendar returns later this month, and this year it has been given something of a makeover.
The Solihull Food & Harvest Festival runs across three days from 25 to 27 September, combining food, live music and family entertainment with a new celebration of British farming and local produce.
Friday begins with Harvest Harmony, bringing 17 local choirs into the town centre and building towards a community singalong. Visitors are also being encouraged to bring a food bank donation, which will be distributed locally through the Colebridge Trust.
Saturday turns the focus firmly towards food and entertainment. Street-food traders will line the High Street and Mill Lane, while a new Farmers’ Market takes over indoor and outdoor areas of Mell Square. Expect artisan bread, cheese, wine and other produce, with businesses including Becketts Farm, Hampton Manor, Loki Wine and Spirit of Birmingham among those due to take part.
There’ll be live music too, running through until 8pm.
Then Sunday goes wonderfully country with a Barn Dance Festival Day. Free line-dancing tuition starts proceedings before tribute performances celebrating Shania Twain, Dolly Parton and The Wurzels. There’s even a bucking bronco for anyone feeling particularly brave.
A Scarecrow Trail runs throughout the weekend, making this one particularly good for families.
Find out more about the Solihull Food & Harvest Festival HERE.
A busy autumn at The Core
Solihull’s Core Theatre has a packed programme stretching through the autumn, with music, theatre, comedy and special screenings.
On Saturday 19th September, The Johnny Cash Roadshow celebrates Cash’s famous prison-era performances, while The Hound of the Baskervilles brings Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic mystery to the Studio on the same evening.
The following week brings The Stars of Irish Country Show on Friday 25 September and Buddy Holly and The Cricketers on Saturday 26 September, while Oasis tribute Oasish arrives on Sunday 27 September.
October has plenty to offer too.
The Olivier, Grammy and six-time Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen receives its Solihull premiere from 6–10 October, presented by Creators Theatre Company.
Later in the month, STAMPS brings another major musical to town with the Solihull premiere of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, running from 20–24 October.
See the full programme at The Core Theatre HERE.
Look up – something spectacular is coming to Tudor Grange Park
Saturday 3rd October | Free
One of the most visually interesting events coming to Solihull this autumn takes place at Tudor Grange Park.
Under the Same Sky is the culmination of a borough-wide community arts project created by Autin Dance Theatre in partnership with Solihull Council.
Throughout the summer, communities have been getting involved in kite-making, dance, storytelling and creative workshops exploring ideas of identity, belonging, arrival and hope.
On 3 October, those individual projects come together in a colourful procession through Tudor Grange Park, accompanied by music and movement.
And then things head upwards.
The procession culminates beneath a huge seven-metre circular aerial rig, where six performers present Up in the Sky, combining aerial dance, physical storytelling, music and flying props.
The performance is non-verbal, making it accessible across generations and languages, and the whole event is free and family-friendly.
Find out more about Under the Same Sky HERE.
Make a day of it
Of course, you don’t necessarily need a ticket or a special event to justify spending a day in Solihull.
Touchwood Solihull has just celebrated its 25th anniversary, having first opened on 5th September 2001. Over the years it has become one of the area’s major shopping, dining and leisure destinations.
A shopping trip can easily be combined with lunch or dinner in the town centre before catching an evening performance at The Core.
And when the autumn weather behaves itself, Solihull has some excellent green spaces too.
Brueton Park and neighbouring Malvern Park provide an easy escape from the shops, while Tudor Grange Park is another option for a walk or simply a bit of breathing space close to the centre.
Further afield there’s Shirley Park, Elmdon Park and the lovely Knowle Park, making Solihull a surprisingly good choice when you want to mix shopping or lunch with some time outdoors.
Solihull deserves a little more attention
For those of us looking at the wider Birmingham area, it can sometimes be tempting to concentrate almost entirely on what’s happening in the city centre.
But Solihull is increasingly worth watching in its own right.
Over the next few weeks alone there’s street food, local produce, live music, musical theatre, comedy, community arts and a seven-metre aerial performance appearing in one of its parks.
And that’s before you’ve stopped for lunch, wandered around the shops or headed out into some of the borough’s greener corners.
So perhaps this autumn is the perfect time to rediscover Solihull.
