6 Things to Do in Nottingham This Weekend

Crimbo is upon us, so to officially kick off the festivities, get yersens down to Old Market Square this Friday at 6.45pm for the Christmas light switch-on. The forty-year-old grand fir tree will be lit up, with a helping hand from the Lord Mayor, who’ll press the plunger at 8pm. Old Market Square will be kitted out with a purpose-built stage with live music from top twenty artists including Indiana, as well as ice dancing, carols courtesy of St Mary’s choir, and a reading from Nottingham’s first young poet laureate Georgina Wilding. The evening will mark the official opening of the Winter Wonderland which this year has a bigger ice rink, a helter skelter bar and a shiny new ski lodge serving crimbo-inspired cocktails, hot cider and German platters. Now that’s a kick-off.
Friday 17 November, 6.45pm, free, Old Market Square, event link

The award-winning Ezra Collective is teaming up with our own Notts-based songsmith Yazmin Lacey to bring you a night of toe-tapping sound. Ezra Collective is made up of a unique blend of instrumentalists influenced by Afro beat, reggae, jazz and hip hop. Yaz, who’s been described as a beautiful soul, a poet and an engineer of sweet melodies by Acoustickle is known for her nectar-sweet vocals which featured on Radio 2’s Jazz Playlist this year. With tickets at just over a tenner, that’s a night well spent if we ever did see one.
Friday 17 November, 7pm, £11, The Bodega, event link

Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust are bringing us a free and creative way to help us rediscover our lost connection with nature. Pens and tree hugs at the ready; this series of events explores the power of nature writing. As part of the Being Human Festival, Wild Words will have our very own Poetry Editor Aly Stoneman running a drop-in family friendly creative writing workshop at 10am, followed by a lively discussion with Dr Rob Lambert from the University of Nottingham about our lost connection with nature. To top it off, there’ll be a nature writing workshop for adults (16+) at 1.30pm. Now there’s summat to fill yer Saturday with.
Saturday 18 November, 10am - 3pm, free, Attenborough Nature Reserve, event link

Ever wondered what goes into writing a radio play? Well here’s your chance, duck. Get yersens down to Waterstones for 10am on Saturday 18 November, where Anthony Cropper – former tutor of Creative and Professional Writing at the University of Nottingham and winner of the BBC Alfred Bradley Award for Radio Drama – will be heading up a workshop with all you need to know. You’ll learn how to grab audiences – and make sure they don’t tune out – as well as learn how to use sound effects and many more handy tips. No previous experience needed, so get stuck in.
Saturday 18 November, 10am - 4.30pm, £64.97 - £70, Waterstones, event link

Brexit has put us in a bit of a pickle, and there’s been some big questions knocking around about how the decision affects European citizen’s rights, including everyone both from and outside of Britain. The Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice at the University of Nottingham is hosting a load of workshops and discussions to shed a little light on the issue. Regardless of where you stand politically, it’s summat that’ll affect us all, so get yersen down to the University of Nottingham’s Graduate School and have a good natter about it.
Saturday 18 November, 10.30am – 5.00pm, £3 - £5, University of Nottingham's Graduate School, event link

If you’re on the hunt for some proper grassroots, handmade stuff, or simply up for supporting some of Notts’ local designers, Malt Cross Music Hall is the place to be this Sunday. Handmade Nottingham are dedicated to over twenty designer stalls, and there’ll also be the chance to have a live watercolor and ink portrait done by Sunshine Portraits so get yersen down and have a gander. And just as a heads up; Malt Cross do a pretty banging hot chocolate...
Sunday 19 December, 11am - 5pm, free, Malt Cross, event link