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
There are four steering meetings to go—always at 6-8 p.m., always with excellent food from OCA! Please come because it is where we really make sure everyone knows what is going on and can make their voice heard.
Thursday 29th May, at Oxford Hub
Thursday 12th June, at Activate Learning
Thursday 26th June, at Activate Learning
Thursday 3rd July, at Activate Learning
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.
OR
Join a singing workshop to create a song for The Leys.
For DJs, dancers, and music performers: please complete the Stage + Performance Form. The deadline is the 6th June.
take part
Interested in getting involved? Whether you’re a food vendor, a community stallholder, or a young baker ready to show off your skills, we’d love to hear from you! Sign up below to take part — the deadlines for food and general stalls are 29 May, and the Young People’s Bake Off deadline is 9 June.
Weekly bunting-making sessions happen every Monday, 10am-12pm, at Oxford Hub
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 our festival producer at nassy.konan@humanities.ox.ac.uk by 9th June, with your name, contact details, and a brief description of what you would like to do.
