St Albans really packs a punch this summer, with a huge number of events taking place not only in the city but also in the surrounding district.
Visitors attracted by the city centre events can happily venture into the wider district to enjoy a spectacular calendar of events taking place in the towns and parishes surrounding St Albans.
You can call this the ripple effect - like throwing a stone into the centre of a pond, the ripples reach far and wide.
This year already, we have seen huge crowds turn out for the eternally popular Harpenden Carnival on the Common, followed by Art on the Common last month.
Another firm favourite on the annual, arts events circuit in the district is the Childwickbury Arts Festival, which is another opportunity for artists to display their work.
This month, Wheathampstead residents will be turning out in force for their annual village weekend, which takes place on July 8 and 9.
The second weekend in July is a particularly busy one for the district.
The Heartwood Forest Summer Festival will also be taking place on July 8 and then the Harpenden Highland Gathering on July 9.
The Harpenden Highland Gathering is recognised as probably the largest gathering outside of Scotland.
There’s a great range of attractions such as piping, highland dancing and highland games competitions, including weight over the bar, tossing the caber and putting the stone.
The fun continues into July with Classics on the Common on July 26, Britain’s biggest mid-week classic car meeting. Some 1,200 classic cars, plus 250 cycles and scooters take over Harpenden Common for an evening.
The biggest event taking place in the district this year is undoubtedly Meraki, a three-day musical festival taking place at the Hertfordshire showground from July 11 to 13.
This is the first event of its kind in the area and thousands of families and festival-goers are expected to enjoy what is expected to be a truly great showcase for the City and District.
But it’s not only this calendar of events that the district has to be proud of.
There’s an amazing collection of attractions to explore that both residents and visitors can enjoy, including the 18th-century Redbournbury Mill, Redbourn Village Museum, the de Havilland Aircraft Museum with the only Second World War prototype of the Mosquito in the world and the amazing Willows Activity Farm.
So do make sure over these coming summer months that you get out of the city centre and into the district to immerse yourself in the great events and attractions that the district has to offer. You will be amazed at what there is out there in our wonderful district.
If you would like to hear more about what else in going on over the summer in St Albans, please visit www.enjoystalbans.com or for further information contact jenny.swatton@stalbans.gov.uk
Michael Weaver is writing on behalf of the St Albans Visitor Partnership
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