CULTURE EDITION
NEWS IN BRIEF
FOLK FESTIVAL TICKETS SNAPPED UP
The Cambridge Folk Festival 2026 at Cherry Hinton Hall, taking place on 1 and 2 August, has already sold out! A spokesperson said: “We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who has booked a ticket for this year’s festival – your support means a lot as we begin an exciting new chapter for the Cambridge Folk Festival. For those who missed out, there are still plenty of ways to be part of it through Cambridge Folk Festival Presents, our city- wide programme of events taking place throughout the summer.” Cambridge Arts Theatre Trust has received a grant of £250,000 from Garfield Weston Foundation, a significant contribution towards helping realise the next phase of the theatre’s major redevelopment project. After the completion of phase one, which saw the transformation of the main auditorium and backstage areas, the theatre is now progressing plans for a new 200-seat studio theatre. The proposed development will be built on the theatre’s roof, replacing the existing offices and the former Roof Garden Restaurant. Over the course of a month, almost a million visitors came to see Rafiki, Zazu, Mufasa, Simba and Nala in Disney’s The Lion King exhibition at Grand Arcade (now ended). With an 11% increase year-on-year in footfall over Easter half-term, it was a great opportunity for families to explore the masks, puppets and costumes from the award-winning production. ARTS THEATRE WELCOMES FUNDING GRAND ARCADE’S ROARING SUCCESS PUBLIC ARTWORK UNDERWAY Preparatory works have begun on a new public art project at Coldham’s Common. The project will see vibrant, nature- inspired artwork applied to the storage containers near Abbey Leisure Pool, next to the BMX trails. Commissioned by Cambridge City Council, the project will see local artist Stefanie Schuessler transform the outward-facing sides of the containers with designs that draw inspiration from the wildlife and natural landscape of the Common. The project is expected to be done by the end of June.
Strawberry Fair reveals this year’s festival centrepiece
A recreation of a stone circle will be installed at the centre of the site, providing an opportunity for tranquillity and reflection among the excitement of the fair. Designed by Silas and Daisy Rayner, founders of Suffolk’s Maui Waui Festival, it includes nine standing stones, arranged in a perfect formation – which may even entice some visitors from another planet – in line with this year’s Area 51 theme, to celebrate the long-standing festival’s 51st year! strawberry-fair.org.uk
From the middle of Cambridge into deep space, the centrepiece of this year’s Strawberry Fair has been revealed – and it promises to be out of this world! This much-loved community festival, which is returning to Cambridge’s Midsummer Common after a year’s absence, is on 6 June. In addition to the annual festival parade, multiple stages of live music and performance, hands- on workshops, craft stalls and a wide array of food and drink vendors, a new attraction is at the heart of the celebration.
CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK JUNE 2026 19
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