Flofest, Thame Pride and open-air Shakespeare await you this EP Thursday...

Love and Rage

Thame takes up the rainbow banner this weekend as Thame Pride returns with attractions spread across the length of the town’s high street. There’ll be musical acts on the main stage, closing with Chappell Roan tribute act The Midwest Princess, an acoustic stage for a more mellow mood, a drag stage for those seeking extra glitter and glam, and a family friendly stage for younger Pride-goers offering face painting and a dog show. Plus, keep an eye out for the Pride History Trail, the Queer Art Exhibition at the Spread Eagle, and even Pride workout sessions at MVMNT BOX for the gym-inclined.

Wanting to make new friends (and maybe more) on the Oxford queer scene? Why not take a little trip to Big Society this Friday - or should we say, FriYAY? Molly’s FriYay’s low key and friendly queer social is a great way to make new connections without an emphasis on high-energy partying - save that for Plush!

Next, a powerful work-in-progress hits the Burton Taylor in the form of Riot Act 2 , the sequel to theatremaker Alexis Gregory’s acclaimed Riot Act. Featuring the testimonies of Dr. Joseph Sonnabend, one of the virus’ first discoverers, Jonathan Blake, one of the first people to be diagnosed, and Ignacio Labayen De Inza, who provides support for those in the community affected by chemsex, this follow-up spotlights three cross-generational perspectives on LGBTQIA+ activism.

And stick around the BT to be the first to see brand new theatrical pieces in progress from up and coming queer creatives at Queer Scratch Night! We’ve got subversive fairytales with The Open Book Project, a dark-sided love connection between a man and a balloon from stand-up Mark Daniels, a comic look at boarding school repression in Little Lord Fondleroy, and a timely look at women’s safety in Yaz and Rosy.

Thame Pride: various locations along Upper High Street, Sat 20th Jun, 12pm - 10pm. Free entry, prices vary for attractions.

Molly’s FriYay: Big Society, Fri 19th Jun, 7.30pm. Tickets £2.

Riot Act 2: Burton Taylor Studio, Wed 24th Jun, 7.30pm. Tickets £12-14.

Queer Scratch Night: Burton Taylor Studio, Fri 26th Jun, 6.30pm. Tickets £8-10.

Flofest, Flowers and Fauna

It’s FloFest time! The much-loved OX4 annual festival is upon us this weekend, morphing into the music and lasers of GloFest as twilight beckons. Many of our local community groups will be manning their stalls, each featuring a free ‘taster’ activity, alongside a whole host of market and food stalls selling their wares. There will also be fairground attractions, a silent disco, activity tents, sports, plenty of performances and even a dog show. As we head into the evening for GloFest, Mount St. Helen will be headlining, along with other live acts Mary’s Garden, The horMones and The Shotovers. The evening will close with a DJ set from James Ussher, lasers and all.

This weekend’s festival offering also brings us the Blenheim Palace Flower Show . The gardening event is included in Blenheim’s general Park & Gardens admission and features a huge array of floral and plant displays alongside indoor and outdoor markets selling plants (!) and a wide range of other things from outdoor furniture to gifts to foodstuffs. (There will, in fact, be an entire pavilion dedicated to fine food and drink.) Also billed: live bee demonstrations from the Oxfordshire Beekeepers Association, live music and a programme of talks to include a Q&A with celebrity gardener Carol Klein on the Friday morning.

Back within the ring-road, relax on Saturday evening at the West Oxford Beer Festival 2026 . Advance booking is recommended to secure access to the line-up of beers awaiting tasting at West Oxford Community Centre. A ticket includes a commemorative pint glass to take home, but the tastings will operate on a cashless pay-as-you-go arrangement. Also important to note is that there will be no food on sale, although beverages offered will include non-beer options. The organisers welcome attendees to order food via delivery services, but you will need to come prepared with cutlery and/or crockery, so pack up your picnic hampers! Might this mean you could go the extra step and bring your own food?

Oxford Nature Festival begins on Sunday and a packed programme of events across our city takes us through the week until the main festival on the Saturday of the following weekend held concurrently at Oxford University Museum of Natural History and Oxford Botanic Garden. Browse the event listing on the festival website for a variety of activities aimed at a broad audience. The festival is led by volunteers and brings together individuals, organisations and community groups from diverse disciplines in celebration of nature in Oxford. There really is quite a spread of different sorts of events over the week: lectures, workshops, walks; arts, social sciences, education. It is worth exploring what’s on.

And the Oxford Windrush Festival also takes place this weekend, with events, talks and exhibitions taking place to honour the Windrush generation. The festival's theme this year is 'Where are you from?', a question that's often loaded when asked in the context of immigration; the weekend's activities reframe what could be asked with hostility into an encouragement of curiosity. Across the city there'll be Cuban dance lessons, free exhibitions, commemorative services and lastly the Windrush Memorial Lecture, this year delivered by local filmmaker Derek James.

We've also not forgotten it's Father's Day this Sunday. With a fine forecast on the horizon, hopefully our festival picks appeal to dads of all sorts, from the keen gardener to the embarrassing dancer. Keep an eye out too for special offers in town - Brown's Brasserie , the Ashmolean restaurant , the Red Lion are all offering a complimentary Father's Day drink (non-alcoholic options available, T&Cs apply)!

FloFest: Florence Park, OX4, Sat 20th Jun, 11.00am-4.30pm. Free and unticketed.

GloFest: Florence Park, OX4, Sat 20th Jun, 6.00pm-11.30pm. Tickets: £22 adult, £8.80 age 6-16 (incl. booking fee); discounted advance purchase tickets & pay-more ticket tiers also available.

Blenheim Palace Flower Show: Woodstock, Fri 19th Jun - Sun 21st June, 10.00am-5.00pm. Tickets: Park & Gardens admission from £31 adult, £15 age 3-16; free for Annual Pass holders.

WOB Fest: West Oxford Community Centre, Sat 20th Jun, 7pm. Tickets: £9.40 entry, then PAYG drinks. Age 18+.

Oxford Nature Festival: various locations, Sun 21st - Sat 27th Jun; main festival day at Oxford University Museum of Natural History & Oxford Botanic Garden, Sat 27th June, 10.00am-5.00pm. Tickets: mostly free; Oxford Botanic Garden admission £9/7.20 + £1 booking fee.

Oxford Windrush Festival: various locations across the city centre, Fri 19th - Mon 22nd Jun. Most events free, Cuban dance class £7 on the door.

Friends, Robots, Countrymen...

We've underdogs, dirty dogs, dogs of war, and dogs that don’t bark this week, and not a cockapoo in sight!

Delightfully, it’s outdoor theatre season, and BMH Productions are back for an 11th year(!) at Oxford Castle, this time presenting political intrigue in ancient Rome. The sun-warmed amphitheatre is a perfect setting, and BMH are always inventive, so we can’t wait to see what they do with Julius Caesar, his power, adoration, and looming tyranny.

Underdog: The Other Other Bronte brings a different family up to date, as Sarah Gordon’s play gives a modern voice to three exceptional and wild women. The plot is fairly gritty, but then so were the novels they wrote. Expect controversy and jealousy but also love, support, irreverence and wit. In short, sisterhood!

A high stakes encounter with the world’s most advanced AI is ready to scare the bejeezus out of us at the OFS, as Only Human takes us to a near future and a step closer to our robot overlords. If tech knows no limits, it may decide our fate: are we ready? We strongly suspect the answer’s no, but exploring some of the challenges through fiction is definitely going to help. Go, prepare yourself, and don’t have nightmares...

There’s less at stake as MCS take over the Playhouse, as Moriarty’s sinister intent more than meets its match in a certain famous deerstalker, in Sherlock Holmes and the Napoleon of Crime. In this new adaptation by Alex Thomas, Holmes and Watson are joined by aspiring journalist Polly Langdale. She’s pursuing her big break, Holmes is pursuing his arch enemy, Watson’s trying to keep up, and the Irregulars are trying to keep the wolf from the door. It's recommended for all the family and boasts an original musical score. The play’s afoot!

Julius Caesar: Oxford Castle and Prison, Mon 22nd Jun - Sat 4th Jul, 7.30pm. Tickets: £20 (concessions £18).

Underdog: The Other Other Bronte: The Mill Arts Centre (Banbury), Thu 18th - Sat 20th Jun, 7.30pm (plus Sat mat 2.30pm). Tickets: £15.50. Age guide 14+.

Only Human: The Old Fire Station, Wed 17th - Sat 20th Jun, 7.30pm. Tickets: £20 - £30. Age limit 16+.

Sherlock Holmes & the Napoleon of Crime: Oxford Playhouse, Thu 25th - Sat 27th Jun, 7pm (matinee Sat, 2pm). Tickets: £15 - £18, u18s £10 (plus booking fee). Age guide 10+.

Hit It

At a time when the island of Cuba is facing one of the most dangerous moments in recent decades, local Latin sextet The Mambo Panthers play a tribute to Cuban music to benefit the Cuba Vive Container Appeal. They'll be joined by Elizabeth Ribalta Rubiera from ICAP (Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples), on a national speaking tour to explain the reality of the crisis and discuss what solidarity means.

Senegalese musician, social activist and environmentalist Sahad Sarr has been called “the Senegalese James Brown” and “the new king of Afrobeat”. The 6-piece band he fronts, Sahad, will be playing at this month’s Bossaphonik club night ; mixing Afrobeat, blues, funk, jazz and reggae to create their very own kaleidoscopic soundscape.

Goddess of Odd is an Oxford based, inclusive, female-led promoter hosting heavy and alternative sounds and diverse voices. This week they will be hosting Brighton-based Hemiptera at The Nest. Described as “anarchist crust, punk, black metal with a melodic cello-driven twist”, they are promoting latest album Until Every Flag is Burned. Support comes from "intense, harrowing and spellbinding" Mrs Frighthouse, She The Throne and Holy Wounds, as well as the debut of heavy post-punk duo, gametes.

If you find anarchist punk a little bit too assertive, then you may find the sound of a choir of 120 singers performing some of classical music’s greatest hits more appealing. The London Symphony Chorus will be performing such works as Handel’s ‘Zadok The Priest’ and Carl Orff’s ‘O Fortuna’ and many, many more at The Oxford Prom, part of the Oxford Festival of The Arts.

Help Cuba!!! Mambo Panthers live + Cuba Solidarity Campaign: East Oxford Community Centre, Fri 19th Jun, doors 5.45pm. Tickets £10.

Bossaphonik presents Sahad: Cowley Workers Social Club, Fri 19th Jun, 8.00pm-1.30am. Band on at 9.30pm. Tickets £16 (adv), £21 (otd).

Hemiptera, Mrs Frighthouse, She The Throne, Holy Wounds, gametes: The Nest, Sat 20th Jun, 6.00pm. Tickets £5-£15.

The Oxford Prom! - London Symphony Chorus: Oxford Town Hall, Wed 24th Jun, 7.30pm. Tickets £12-£35.

And Finally

As Oxford Refugee Week nears its close, Asylum Welcome have launched an urgent appeal to support detainees held in Campsfield Immigration Removal Centre, which has announced proposals to expand the centre from 160 to 400 places. The team’s staff and volunteers regularly visit people who have been detained to help reconnect them to family and understand what legal and social support is available to them. Residents of Campsfield face constant uncertainty without a fixed end date for their detention - Asylum Welcome reports one man facing deportation following an eight week prison sentence whose entire family is based in the UK; another was detained during what he thought would be a routine immigration appointment.

With the announcement of plans for the centre’s expansion, Asylum Welcome needs more help than ever to ensure their visiting service continues. You can submit comments on the proposals until 24th July, and donate to Asylum Welcome’s appeal here ; you can also get involved on the ground with the Coalition to Close Campsfield campaign.

Image credits: Thame Pride, Guy Henstock, Magdalen College School, Sahad, Asylum Welcome