Entertainment News

More than 8,500 happy ‘Color Runners’  headed to Birmingham’s NEC this weekend when the Happiest 5k on the planet  returned to the city for the second time. Starting as a blank canvas and finishing head-to-toe in every colour of the rainbow, fun-loving runners from across the city and beyond took part in the ‘Happiest 5k on the Planet’.

Multi-platinum selling rock band Nickelback have been forced to cancel all remaining dates for the 2015 No Fixed Address Tour due to an extended period of vocal rest ordered for lead singer Chad Kroeger. Kroeger, who was diagnosed with an intracordal cyst on his voice box in June, recently underwent surgery and must remain on vocal rest as ordered by doctors for the next six to nine months in order to fully recuperate. 

An incredibly rare fossil – the 315 million-year-old Coseley Spider – will star in a new exhibition revealing the Black Country’s amazing geological legacy. Never shown in Wolverhampton before, the internationally important example of the species Eophrynus Prestvicii discovered near Coseley shows the early evolution of spiders, say experts.

Would-be authors can get expert advice on writing when crime writer Tom Bryson gives at talk at a Sandwell library. Brandhall Library is hosting an afternoon with Kinver author Tom Bryson who will be at the library in Tame Road, Oldbury, on Friday 21 August at 3pm.  Tom’s latest book is called ‘In it for the Money’ and is the latest in a series of crime books based in Birmingham and the Black Country featuring DCI Matt Proctor.

Birmingham’s Bob Brolly revealed his latest venture this week, with the launch of his new role with Irish TV taking place at the ‘heart of learning’ in Digbeth. The BBC Radio favourite will now head up Irish TV’s Midlands offering after his first instalment, a jam-packed launch show  from South and City College’s Digbeth Auditorium on Monday August 24.

Firmly established as one of the top events of its kind in the UK, as well as one of the biggest in the Midlands, the 9th annual Derby Festé will this year take place over the weekend of September 25th and 26th. First staged in 2007 as a way of helping to showcase the changes to the city brought about by more than £2-billion worth of regeneration, Derby Festé now transforms the whole of the city centre into a world-class festival site with performances for the whole family to enjoy.

The London Korean Festival brought a slice of Korea to London's iconic Trafalgar Square and was so popular that it reached capacity. Visitors were treated to the sights, sounds and aromas of South Korea during a fun-packed day on the 9th August. The family event had something for everyone in the form of K-Cuisine, which offered Korean street foods on both the east and west sides of the square. Live cooking demonstrations from celebrated chefs Judy Joo of Jinjuu.com and Joo Won of 'Galvin at Windows'.

Expect some riveting tales from the wagon trains of the Wild West when wheelwright Phill Gregson returns to give a masterclass at the National Forest Wood Fair, on Bank Holiday Monday 31 August. Phill was absent from the event at Beacon Hill Country Park last year, as he was on a six-week study tour of the United States, looking at materials and production methods used by wheelwrights in America.

A day of events for young people, by young people, takes place at Wolverhampton Art Gallery on National Youth Day this Wednesday (12 August 2015). #OurWorld features a display of work by members of ArtForum Gold, a group who meet regularly at the gallery to gain an art qualification outside of formal education, alongside work from Re-Entry and submissions by young people from across the city.

Participating in the arts as a family can be every bit as productive as spending regular meal times together.  This Autumn half term families of all shapes and sizes from across the nation can get involved with a huge range of arts experiences on offer, many of which are free, as part of the Get Creative Family Arts Festival.

Former Ireland and Aston Villa Legend 'Paul McGrath' will be reminiscing about his career at The Irish Centre in Birmingham in November. The man known as 'God' to the Villa fans will be at The Irish Centre in Deritend on Thursday November 5th talking about his life and the highs and lows of his football career. He'll also be explaining how he became one of the most high-profile figures in Irish Sporting history and there will be a chance to ask him questions, get a photo and signature.

Fans of Northern Soul can scoot down to a Sandwell photography exhibition and sound out the music which inspired the 1970s iconic dance scene. Sandwell photographer Anthony McFarlane, of Mac13Soul Photographic, is showing his work at Sandwell Arts Café at Sandwell College’s Central 6 campus (formerly The Public).

Following critically-acclaimed, sell-out runs at the Almeida Theatre and in the West End, King Charles III has its regional premiere at Birmingham Repertory Theatre this September. Robert Powell will take on the role of King Charles.  The production opens at The REP from September 4 – 19 before embarking on a major UK tour.

What do you do when your nights become days and your days become a re-enactment of some of the dodgier scenes from the Living Dead films?  Well, in Paul’s case you put off crying about the futility of everything to pull the jokes from the burning wreckage of your REM sleep.  Black Country Comic Paul Savage has spent a lot of time thinking about this show.  Mainly at 3am, whilst staring at the ceiling. 

The city of Kyoto is getting ready to welcome thousands of manga and anime fans as the final stages of preparation for the fourth Kyoto International Manga Anime Fair 2015 take place. The creative show for fans of the Japanese art form will open at Miyakomesse, Kyoto's International Manga Museum on 19 and 20 September 2015. International tourists can embrace the popular Japanese culture for free by showing their passport on arrival at the event.

As the nights draw in, one boutique inn bordering the Lakes and the Dales is offering a new movie experience for guests to enjoy some big screen action in the luxury of their own private cinema. From September, the Sun Inn in Kirkby Lonsdale is teaming up with home technology specialists Majik House to offer exclusive cinema packages for private groups of up to 6 people.