Step back in time at Leamington’s first history festival

MORE than 50 events are about to get families, community groups, schools and people of all ages involved in Leamington’s first ever history festival.

Starting tomorrow and running across the Jubilee weekend and half term holiday, most of the events in the festival’s wide-ranging programme - put together by Leamington group Heritage Matters - are free of charge and run by volunteers.

Programmes detailing dates, times and venues can be found in libraries, shops, cafes, community centres and other public venues across Warwick district and online. Here are some of the highlights.

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• Leamington contemporary arts fair, Livery Street, Saturday May 26, 10am to 5pm, featuring artworks by local artists reflecting the life and loves of Leamington.

• Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair, the Old Library, Avenue Road, Saturday May 26, 11am to 4pm: fashion, accessories, collectables and tea.

• Vintage dance night, the Old Library, Avenue Road, Saturday May 26, 7.30pm to 11.30pm, tickets £11, featuring music from the 1920s to the 1950s.

• The Writing on the Wall: Tony Benn and Roy Bailey, Spa Centre, Newbold Terrace, Sunday May 27, 7.30pm, tickets £16: the former politician and international musician Roy present an evening illustrating the history of dissent in words and song.

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The Railway Children, Leamington station, Friday June 1, 2pm, free: Heartbreak Productions presents a taster of its forthcoming production.

• Jubilee tea party, Pump Room Gardens, Sunday June 3, 10am to 6pm: big screen showing the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in London, live music, flag-making, face painting, food and drink.

• A Right Royal Romp, Jephson Gardens, Monday June 4, 1pm to 2.30pm: dress up in 1950s gear and bring a picnic and have a dance to enjoy live music by Warwick University Big Band.

• Why Did World War Two start in Poland? Caffe Nero, the Parade, Monday June 4, 6.30pm, free: Leamington historian Stas Librowski gives his personal views on the beginning of the Second World War.

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• The Gut Girls, Alf Jones butcher shop, Clemens Street, Monday June 4 and Tuesday June 5, 7pm, free: Teatro Theatre perform a short extract of the play inside the former butcher shop.

• Punjabi Childhoods, Radford Road church, Wednesday June 6, 11am, free: enjoy traditional refreshments with the Sikh women of the Milan group, who present a short film looking at their childhoods in the Punjab and their journeys to Leamington.