Your weekend sorted right here
BIRMINGHAM
HOT STUFF
The Birmingham Chilli Festival is back. Expect cocktails, tango performances and stalls offering chilli-related produce from around the world. Brave contestants will battle through 15 eye-watering challenges for the title of Chilli Conqueror 2012. 13-14 July; free, BrindleyPlace, Birmingham, B1
EGYPTIAN KINGS
Monumental sculptures and glittering gold jewellery form part of the British Museum’s Pharaoh: King of Egypt exhibition, which is visiting Birmingham on its national tour. 14 July-14 October; £5, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery Chamberlain Square, Birmingham, B3
INTERNATIONAL ART
Nine international artists display works exploring questions of autonomy and isolation in The Possibility Of An Island. Be among the first to see it at Friday’s opening night (6pm-9pm). 14 July-18 August; 12pm-5pm; free; Grand Union, 19 Minerva Works, Fazeley Street, Birmingham, B5
PING-PONG
Wimbledon may be over but Birmingham is still in the grip of tennis fever – table tennis, that is. Get involved with Ping Brum by grabbing a paddle at one of 64 ping-pong tables at landmarks and shopping centres across the city. 6 July-1 August; free; citywide
TEA TIME
Sip tea at a Shanghai-style pop-up tea house and see what the future holds according to your tea leaves at Identi-Tea – Dans La Poche. 14 July; 1:30, 4pm and 6:30pm; free, Birmingham Hippodrome Piazza, Hurst Street, Birmingham B5
LEEDS
PUNK PARTY
The closing party for iconic punk artist Jamie Reid’s exhibition will see live opera, hip-hop and poetry come together, raising funds for homeless shelter, St George’s Crypt. 14 July; 7pm-1am; £5; Temple Works, Marshall Street, Holbeck, LS11
PUT A RING ON IT
Art meets fashion at the Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery’s latest exhibition, Flourish, opening today. Alongside the designs, 100 special rings have been created to mark the gallery’s 16th birthday. Until 30 September; 10am-6pm; free; Kath Libbert Jewellery Gallery, Salts Mill, Saltaire, BD18
OPEN-AIR CINEMA
The I Love West Leeds Festival’s mobile film screen will be showing The Woman In Black in Bramley on Friday and The Artist in New Wortley on Saturday. Bring a picnic and a torch for the late-night screenings. 13 and 14 July; 10pm; free; Raynville Road Park; Jaily Field, LS12
KIRKSTALL FESTIVAL
The annual Kirkstall Festival attracted 16,000 to the Abbey grounds last year and this year there’s even more to go at with live music, birds of prey, dance, DJs and cakes from the Marvellous Tea Dance Company. 14 July; 11am-5.30pm; free; Abbey Walk, Kirkstall, LS5
RHYS DARBY ON TOUR
He was hilarious as Murray in Flight Of The Conchords so we’re looking forward to seeing Rhys Darby perform his latest stand-up show, This Way To Spaceship at Leeds Town Hall on Saturday. 14 July; 8pm; £20; Leeds Town Hall, The Headrow, LS1
SCOTLAND
SCARY MOVIES
Watch Ridley Scott’s original sci-fi masterpiece Alien Alien (and James Cameron’s Aliens) on the big screen. 15 July; 5.30pm and 8.20pm; £7.50 each; Filmhouse, 88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH3
POP-UP PICTURES
Future Shorts, the global pop-up film festival, is back. Come see the best in animation, documentary and short films – followed by a DJ set from Asthmatic Astronaut. 13 July; 8pm; £5; CCA 4 (cinema), 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2
STAR-CROSSED LOVERS
Tissues at the ready for the next Bard in the Botanics: “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” Until 20 July; 8pm; £15; Main Botanic Gardens (or Kibble Palace Glasshouse in heavy rain), 730 Great Western Road, Glasgow, G12
WEIRD SCIENCE
In Watching On The Heights, learn about Joseph Lister. He’s the surgeon who came up with the idea that wounds and surgery instruments should be kept sterile. Fascinating and surprising. Until Sept; 12pm-4pm; £5; Surgeons’ Hall Museums, Nicolson Street, Edinburgh EH8
BORROW A PERSON
Designed to challenge stereotypes, at The Human Library you borrow a ‘human book’ for 20-40 minutes. Ask them any questions about their life to see if you can change your perceptions. 14 July; 2pm-5pm; free; CCA, 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow, G2
MANCHESTER
LITERARY LAUNCH
Ewan Morrison’s unique perspective on globalisation and consumerism filters though in his new book Tales From The Mall, a sharp, witty collection of fiction, fragments, essays and anecdotes inspired by the shopping centres of Britain. 12 July, 6.30pm; free; Waterstones, 91 Deansgate, M3
EXPERIMENTAL EVENING
Exploring the art of sampling through embroidery, sound, art and performance, the Sampler-cultureclash is part of the Craft and Design Centre’s 30th anniversary celebrations. 14 July, 6.30pm-8.30pm; free (booking required); The Craft and Design Centre, 17 Oak Street, M4
ARTS CLASH
Celebrating the city’s independent arts scene, theatre company Box of Tricks presents the CounterCultureClub. Theatre and poetry will feature alongside music, comedy and visual art, culminating in a late night party. 14 July, 7.30pm-2.30am, £5; 2022NQ, 20 Dale Street, M1
BLING IT BACK
Manchester’s most eclectic and inclusive R&B night Off The Hook is back in the hood, kicking out the jams with vintage hip-hop and cutting-edge R&B, with a peppering of disco and soul. 14 July, 11pm; £5; Kraak Gallery, 11 Stevenson Square, M1
INTERNATIONAL CINEMA
Town Of Runners follows the paths of two girls from the Ethiopian highland town of Bejoki, home to some of the world’s greatest athletes. Catch it in Salford’s new arts space, The Black Lion. 13-14 July, 3.30pm and 7.30pm; £5; Chapel Street, Salford, M3
LONDON
PLAY PÉTANQUE
The south of France comes to south-west London in the form of the Ricard Pétanque Garden Party, in celebration of Bastille Day. Play the French sport, drink delicious cocktails and enjoy general merriment. 14 July; 11am-6pm; free; Chelsea Physic Garden, 66 Royal Hospital Road, Chelsea, SW3
GO FLY A KITE
This beautiful, rainbow-like art installation is the work of New York-based artist Jacob Hashimoto. It consists of hundreds of colourful bamboo and paper kites, which evoke childhood memories. The Other Sun; until 28 August; free; Ronchini Gallery, 22 Dering Street, W1S
SEAFOOD WITH A VIEW
Eat whole Devon crab with brown meat mayonnaise on a rooftop pavilion overlooking London at Bonnie-On-Sky, a new pop-up seafood supper club. Weds-Sat until 21 July; 6.30pm-10pm; three-course meal £33; The Skyroom, 136-148 Tooley Street, SE1
ICE-CREAM AND JAZZ
Every Sunday this summer, you can listen to free live jazz sessions at The Foundry while scoffing homemade ice-cream. First up this Sunday is newcomer Jasmine Nelson. Ice-cream flavours include clotted cream and blueberry. Sundays; 12.30pm-2pm; free; 3-7 Delancey Street, NW1
GRADUATE DANCERS
Catch the final two performances by 50 graduates of the London Contemporary Dance School. They’ll perform specially commissioned works by renowned choreographers – and you–ll be impressed by their light-as-a-feather moves. 12 and 13 July; 8pm; £7; The Place, 17 Duke’s Road, London, WC1H
