Month-long Made in Basingstoke festival set to celebrate town's food, fashion, art and culture

Running from July 14 to August 13, the jam-packed extravaganza will feature a range of creative events for people of all ages and tastes.

Comprising of four themed weeks entitled Create, Taste, Discover and Make, the festival will showcase the town’s artists, foods, attractions and people through a comprehensive programme of daily activities to be staged at key attractions, shops, museums and shopping centres across the town.

To link in with the borough celebrating 200 years since Jane Austen’s death, during the taste week there will be a walking tour, an amusing musical recital at the Basingstoke Discovery Centre; and a new exhibition called ‘Retail and Romance: Jane goes to the Ball’ at the Willis Museum.

The summer festival is being co-ordinated by Basingstoke Together, the town’s Business Improvement District (BID), with the aim to promote the businesses that are part of the campaign and boost the positive profile of Basingstoke.

Karen Wild, chief executive of Basingstoke Together, said: “The Made In Basingstoke Festival has been developed by the BID to celebrate everything that makes the borough of Basingstoke, and the town centre in particular, a unique and interesting place to visit. “We are thrilled to be delivering this first BID event with our partners and would like to thank Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council and all the businesses that are participating for their support. “The Festival is jam-packed with events and activities catering to all tastes and age groups and we anticipate it will be a very exciting month for the town .”

To celebrate Basingstoke’s historic past, there will be different activities for residents to take part in, including a ‘Summer Raincoat’ craft session tying into the town’s heritage connections with Thomas Burberry, as well as a Punch and Judy festival. 

For more information and a full schedule of events visit madeinbasingstoke.co.uk