In Cardiff this July
The best things in life are free.
With the annual Cardiff festival returning to our city promising a series of mostly free summer events, this month we thought you could try living life on the cheap side. So avoid the mud, backpacks, camping and Wellington boot brigade trudging around the country to go along to over priced festivities. Instead stay put in Cardiff for a more civilized and wallet friendly type of festival.
A free food and drink bonanza takes over the Bay (11-13th July, 12pm-10pm). Go around the world in eighty tastes eat and drink your way around local and international produce from Wales, France, Poland and Italy among others. Take an ice-cream workshop, a wine taste or watch demonstrations on how to create healthy dishes using local produce.
Wow on the Waterfront is a free street theatre spectacular. (25th-26th July, Roald Dahl Plass, Free, 9pm) Parading around the Bay with a giant ship of mystical dreams and fantasy characters, stilt walkers to aerialists, with an ocean of foam and pyrotechnic display jump aboard me hearties.
The UK's biggest free outdoor music festival offers three days of live music and a traveling funfair at the Civic Centre (1-3rd August, Civic Centre, Free, Fri 5pm-10.30pm, Sat-Sun 12pm-10.45pm). We recognise Ash and Yoav but with a band name like The Men They Couldn't Hang and Prince Buster its assured entertainment.
Seven Oaks Park plays host to a free Welsh Hip Hop festival (26th-27th July) in memory of the 15 year old Graffiti writer Bill Lockwood aka Roxe, who died in a car accident acts include Higher Learning, Dead Residents and Optimus Prime.
Ladies tie up your trainer laces and enter the Cancer Research UK Race for Life hosted at Bute Park (2nd July). The women only fundraising event raising money to help beat cancer is a 5k run/walk/dawdle. Be a supporting spectator or an active participator.
For those of you with cash in your pocket because you haven't booked a last minute holiday, an overpriced festival or your bank ignores your increasing overdraft then Itchy can recommend you beg or steal your way into getting a ticket to see Franz Ferdinand play an intimate gig at the Point (Sat 28th June 7.30pm) plus the Silent Disco returns on the 26th of July, DJ's battling in silence as you listen through headphones or 2-4 July is the Cardiff Castle Open air theatre presentation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing (Cardiff Castle grounds, 7.30pm, £14). No they are not free but there is nothing much we can ado about that.
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