There are some great events for people of all ages to get involved in this summer in Newcastle. July sees the GemArts Masala Festival and Pride celebrations, as well as the start of the six-week Summer in the City programme. August brings the Novum Summer Festival and the annual Newcastle Mela. Find out more about what’s on below and how to get involved.
15th-21st July, Newcastle and Gateshead venues
GemArts award winning Masala Festival is held in July each year, bringing a blend of the finest South Asian arts and culture, music, dance, literature, performances and workshops, family fun days, food events and more to venues, places and spaces in Newcastle and Gateshead.
Click on the links for events:
- 15th July – Masala Festival Launch: Aunusthan: Pagrav Dance Company
- 16th July – Artful Struggles: Contemporary Art from Sri Lanka
- 16th July – Cities of Dreams – beneath the surface
- 17th July – Ink Pi Workshop
- 17th July – New Ways of Moving in the Counterworlds
- 18th July – Snow Leopard
- 18th July Freespill: a night of unfiltered desi soul flow Hosted by Tahmina Ali
- 19th July Rajasthan Heritage Brass Band
- 19th July When Chai Met Toast
- 20th July Balladeste
- 21st July – Mini Mela and Mini Book Fair
Keep up to date:
- Sign up for the mailing list here
- Follow on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram
- Visit GemArts website here for more activities
19th-21st July, Newcastle City Centre
The Pride in the City event’s theme is “unapologetically visible” and the Festival’s aims to bring over 80,000 people to Newcastle during the Pride weekend, with all the festival favourites in the heart of the city.
The Festival will “highlight the vibrant and beautiful queer community, the valuable impact they have on society and the richness of their talents, from makers and creators, to performers and activists.”
Click here for a full list of free events and venues and ticketed events
12-5pm on 20th July free events:
- Curious Arts Stage (till 7pm) at Northern Stage
- The Lumo Platform at Grey’s Monument
- Family and Youth Zone at The Assembly Rooms
- Health and Wellbeing Zone at Newcastle Civic Centre
- Sport and Active Life Zone at Sport Central, Northumbria University
- Hits DJ Truck Stop at Grey Street
There will be a Market Village at Grey’s Monument and Old Eldon Square filled with stalls. The March takes place from 12pm on Saturday 20th July from Newcastle Civic Centre. There will be a Candlelit Vigil at 9pm on 21st July at the Northern Pride Arena, Central Park, Times Square.
There are also ticketed satellite events taking place including a celebration concert (5th July), singalong at Tyneside Cinema (10th July), Comedy night (15th July) and Cabaret on 12th July.
- Visit the website here and click ‘subscribe’ for updates
- Follow on twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, youtube. LinkedIn
8th-11th August, Newcastle Civic Centre and around
Newcastle’s newest multi-arts festival experience returns bigger and bolder for 2024. Join in the summer festival for families and people of all ages all based in and around Newcastle’s Civic Centre.
There will be performances, interactive installations, exhibitions, live music and free family activities and workshops from a host of local, national, and international artists. Many events are free, but require booking. Many of the live music events are ticketed (paid).
Click here to see the full programme
Keep up to date:
25th and 26th August 2023, Exhibition Park, Newcastle
Newcastle Mela is a joyful annual event, suitable for all ages and families, with fun, laughter, music, arts, entertainment and performance, as well as stalls selling food, clothing and jewellery and opportunities to try out crafts and activities. There will be performances by circus acts, dance artists and local groups.
The Mela is a free event, based around Pakistani, Bengali, Indian and other South Asian cultures.
The event is open to the public and encourages an audience from a variety of backgrounds to attend its annual grand festival. It is a true display of diversity within Newcastle upon Tyne.
This year is the Newcastle Mela’s 30th anniversary.
The full programme is yet to be announced, but keep up to date with the latest news about the Mela:
NE1’s Summer in the City is one of the city’s biggest series of events and gets a little more impressive every year. Running to coincide with the period of the school holidays (late July to early September) Newcastle will be buzzing with NE1-backed goings on, from Screen on the Green – a free cinema screen in Old Eldon Square showing everything from action-packed sport to family favourite movies – to installations and additions everywhere from Grey Street to the Quayside. There will be a programme of special music, kids and fitness events too. The website will be live on 1st July with activity bookings open from Tuesday 2nd July.
And at the end of the summer, there’s the annual Dragon Boat Race on the Tyne to look forward to. The charity challenge sees the most adventurous of teams paddle down the River Tyne in the dragon-themed boats, all racing for first place. Racing as a team, or taking part as an individual in a combined boat, from the energetic warm up to the sprint to the finish line, this is a real bucket-list activity for lovers of Newcastle. Alongside the races on water, there are loads of fun activities which take place along the Quayside for those staying dry on land to cheer teams on as they battle head-to-head. From face-painting to crafts, carnival style games to charity raffles, there’s always lots to do and get involved in on the day.