On Saturday 5 July 2025 we will come together again for food, stalls, music, dance, sports, arts, crafts, fashion, theatre, and spoken word as part of the Leys Festival. It will be a celebration of our community, and an important event in Oxford’s calendar.The Leys Festival was planned and made last summer (2024) by a group of residents of Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys working with a team from the Cultural Programme at the University of Oxford.Watch highlights from last year’s festival:
This year the Festival will return to Blackbird Leys Park on Saturday 5 July. The planning group (Residents and University) have already started dreaming up an even bigger and better event and are looking for anyone who would like to get involved.
The theme will be One People One Place, and we will celebrate all the bridges we build in our community. There will be food, stalls, music, dance, sport, arts, crafts, fashion, exhibitions, spoken word and theatre, all from The Leys.
WE NEED YOUR HELP
We want to make sure that as many voices as possible are included in the Festival and we’d love to hear your ideas, we also need plenty of volunteers to make the Festival happen. We promise you’ll have fun!
There are three ways to get involved:
1. Help plan the festival
Come along to the monthly planning meetings; they are fun, sociable, everyone gets a chance to contribute and there is always good food.
The next one is on Thursday 6 March at Activate Learning, Cuddesdon Way, Oxford, OX4 6HN from 6-8pm.
Join a working group – small groups of volunteers who meet online looking at the following areas:
The Food Festival and Stalls
Schools and youth groups
Music/Dance/Stage programme
Fundraising
Mentoring and skills
Stories of the Leys
2. Get Creative
Let us know you would like to perform, or host a stall or an activity at the Festival. Everyone welcome so let us know what you’d like to do and we will try to fit you in.
OR
Share a story about The Leys, about the history or the future of this place or about a person who has made a difference or just something funny or interesting about this community. We’re going to make a piece of theatre about our community or come along to a story workshop, next one on Thursday 13 March in the afternoon – details tbc.
OR
Join a singing workshop to create a song for The Leys.
3. Volunteer on the day
We’ll need loads of people to help make the event welcoming, safe and fun. You could:
Volunteer to run a workshop in a school or community group to get people involved (this could be music, art, craft, exercise, collecting memories, building bridges).
OR
Volunteer to share your skills or experience – if you have ever delivered an event, produced a gig, raised money, done a risk assessment, and would like to help, let us know.
If you are interested please email members of the Leys community at leyscommunityevent@gmail.com with your name, contact details and just tell us what you would like to do.
4. Get your school involved
This year the Leys Festival is excited to offer local schools the opportunity to book one of the following free workshops for young people.
Workshop Options
1. Build the Ultimate Leys Festival (KS1, KS2, KS3)
Get hands-on and work with a professional facilitator to design and construct a 3D model
of your own ideal festival and exhibit your final work at the Leys Festival!
2. Film Your Utopia (KS3 and KS4)
Explore the concept of Utopia in your own community– What makes us hopeful? What do we do every day that makes our world a little better? What else could we do? Who are your everyday heroes? Work with professional artists to create short films using your smartphone. Learn about filming techniques, visual storytelling and creative expression through digital media!
3. Creative Writing (KS1, KS2, KS3 and KS4)
Work with professional artists to explore techniques for writing, stories, poems, songs, and spoken word around our festival themes; One People One Place, Building Bridges. Take inspiration from local writers and musicians and participate in guided writing exercises to get the ideas flowing, with the opportunity to perform your own work!
4. Write a song for the Leys (KS1, KS2, KS3 and KS4)
Explore songwriting with professional musicians and collaborate with other schools and community groups on song ideas. Join the Leys Festival Choir to rehearse and sing our new song at the Festival (optional!)
If you would like more information or to express your interest in taking part in one or more of the above workshops, please emailleyscommunityevent@gmail.com. Please note all expressions of interest need to be submitted by Wednesday 30th April 2025.
join in
Steering meetings take place at 6-8pm, all welcome:
Thursday 10th April at Oxford Hub, Windale Primary School, Windale Avenue, Oxford OX4 6JD
