what’s on

Thursday 5

Electric Light Orchestra is coming to the Grove Theatre in Dunstable for one night only, in the form of The ELO Experience - Mr Blue Sky. It’s a show full of hit records from Living Thing to Sweet Talking Woman and perhaps the most famous record, Mr Blue Sky. At 7.30pm, for tickets call the box office on 01582 602080 or go to www.grovetheatre.co.uk.

Dunstable Tea Time Tales history talks are back, A session on land and lead mines owned by the Priory runs from 2.30-4pm at Priory House, High Street South. Buy tickets on advance, £4.75 including refreshments. Call 01582 891420.

Friday 6

Luton Writers Group meets at The Hat Factory from 8-10pm Cost: £5 / £2.50 concessions. The group meets on the first Friday of every month. Become a Luton Group Writer to make friends and contacts, as well as to compare notes and ideas. Get valuable tips and advice towards improving your work. Enjoy friendly sessions that will develop your talent. Learn how to present your work to publishers and agents. Make sure your writing reaches its full potential and that you avoid the typical pitfalls when you finally try to get published. Sessions cover all genres of prose, including novels, short stories and non-fiction. The group will appeal to new writers or those with experience.Luton Writers’ Group meet every first Friday of the month, 8pm - 10pm.

Brazilian Carnival Encontro 1.30pm until September 8 at 2pm. This year’s Brazilian Carnival Encontro is taking place on Friday 6th to Sunday 8th September at the UK Centre for Carnival Arts. Brazilian Carnival Encontro 2013 will include a half day conference, two fun filled days of Samba drumming, dance and costume workshops, Friday night welcome party plus the fabulous Saturday Night Showcase. We have also booked modern, self-catering apartments located directly adjacent to the centre (each flat caters up to 5 people with single en-suite rooms) for £28 per person, per night. If you would like to book a room for yourself or your group please contact [email protected] You can now book tickets for the weekend!

Buddy and The Killer is a non-stop rock n roll celebration of the music of legendary icons Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis. Guaranteed to have you dancing in the aisles, the show features the West End star of smash hit musicals Buddy and Great Balls Of Fire, Billy Geraghty. At 7.30pm at The Grove Theatre in Dunstable. Call the box office on 01582 602080 for tickets.

Saturday 7

Mountain Bike Technical Skills Day Course. Learn how to carry the flow on the trails – learn bunnyhops, clearing drops by putting the bike into the air, pumping the bike and taking on berms. Become a trail god on the course – all in just one day! 10am till approx 4pm £70pp, adults only, pls see website for full info Church Road, Woburn Sands.

Ghost Hunt Wardown Park Museum from 8pm-2am. £30. Includes coffee, tea and buffet. Booking essential. 
Please call 01582 546722. Dare you spend a night at the haunted Wardown Park Museum?

The festival of trees, woodlands, crafts, countryside and music at the Forest Centre and Millennium Country Park, Marston Moretaine. Now a fixture in Bedfordshire’s calendar of outdoor events; don’t miss this end-of-summer festival of everything that’s great about our fantastic countryside. Adults: £7.50, concessions and children 10-16: £4. Children under 10: FREE. Saturday 11am – 6.30pm and Sunday 11am – 5pm.

Roy Chubby Brown is rude and crude in his politically incorrect show at The Grove Theatre in Dunstable. As the title-holder of ‘The World’s Most Outrageous Comedian’, Chubby is too rude for TV, so on tour is the only way to catch him. At 7.30pm, call the box office on 01582 602080 for tickets.

Rock n Roll music tribute show, Come On Everybody, is at Harpenden Public Halls for one night only. Audience members are invited to take their drape jackets and circle skirts out of the back of the wardrobe for an evening of unashamed fifties nostalgia. From 7.30pm, visit www.harpendenpublichalls.co.uk/ to book.

Thomas & Friends fans have the chance to meet their hero when the world’s favourite little engine steams into the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre at Quainton, Bucks, for a new look Day Out With Thomas (DOWT) today and Sunday.This fun-filled event offers pre-schoolers and their families the opportunity to take a ride on a real steam engine, and meet Thomas the Tank Engine and other engines, with character faces based on the CGI series. Fans will meet the booming-voiced Fat Controller, dress up as Thomas characters, have their photographs taken with Thomas and his friends, take part in sing-alongs and have lots of colouring and story time fun in Thomas’s Imagination Station. Book tickets now at www.dayoutwiththomas.co.uk/bucks. For every booking made through the website there is a free gift. Tickets are Adult & Senior £15, Child (2 – 15 yrs.) £11, Family (2 Adults + 2 Children) £44.50

Learn more about country crafts, green-living, landscape practices and machinery at a fantastic one day event in Campbell Park , in Milton Keynes. 12-5pm. There will be falconry displays, out-door theatre performances, the chance to meet the cattle and sheep that graze our parks and to get close to a variety of animals at the petting zoo. There will be displays and demonstrations of tree-climbing and modern machinery and tractors that help us keep the parks in such great condition. With a wide selection of stalls and country crafts, children’s entertainment, music from Bradwell Silver Band and a series of interesting talks on orchids and owls, hedgerow basket making and our beautiful parks there’s sure to be something to please all ages throughout the day. Entry is free. Parking is available at Central Milton Keynes Shopping Centre or on Silbury Boulevard. For further information visit www.theparkstrust.com.

Sunday 8

Join the High Town Sunday Shindig, a community day to promote High Town in a positive light. Admission is free to all events.

Festivities begin with a children’s hat decoration workshop at 3.15pm at new boutique High Hats, 77 High Town Road. Take your little ones to have colourful fun whilst you enjoy the live music. At 3.30pm in The Freeholder on the corner of York Street, Mantrata, an eclectic fusion band from Luton will be performing. At 5.30pm there will be a Vinyl Party in Shop 33 - come armed with beer and vinyl and Shop 33 will supply the cake. The shop will be open from 2pm on Sunday. Finally at 7pm in The Painters Arms rock trio Engine Room will be performing.

All the best in Asian visual art and performance comes to town with the hugely popular Luton Mela, now celebrating its 14th year as a cultural showcase. It takes place at Wardown Park from noon to 7pm. Last year the event attracted a crowd of more than 10,000 with its talented cast of local, national and international stars and fun-filled activities for the whole family. This year’s artists include Dutch singer Sami Blake, Pakistani-born Nafees, Hypnotize Crew, Des-c and many more. Entry is free with free parking at Popes Meadow.

Panto Factor: Open auditions for the part of Dick Whittington in The Grove Theatre’s Christmas Pantomime. Panto Factor will be screened as an online talent show as rising stars compete for the chance to star in Dunstable’s biggest and best pantomime. Anyone aged over 16 years can enter, regardless of experience. For full details visit www.dunstablepantot.com.

Every Sunday throughout September The Pines Hotel in Marsh Road, Luton is holding a Pines Idol, an open mic session with the best singer from each week (chosen by the audience) who will get a paid booking to sing live at The Pines Hotel, starts 8pm.

Thursday 12

Vicar of Dibley at Luton Library Theatre 7.45pm Thursday, Friday and Saturday with a matinee on Saturday at 3pm. Box office: 01582 547474 / 878100 Book Online: The Griffin Players present a tale of the eccentric villagers of Dibley coming to terms with their new female vicar. Prepare to laugh and delight in a touching and smart comedy full of wit and wonderful characters. Relive the arrival of the new female vicar, Geraldine Granger.