Check out our selection of things to do in the Midlands during the next few weeks.

CHINESE NEW YEAR FESTVAL 2025 

Birmingham Chinese Festival Committee and Birmingham Hippodrome are once again hosting the city’s annual Chinese New Year celebrations this month.

Festivities start in the city centre on Saturday 1 February with lion and dragon processions.
Celebrations then continue on Sunday the 2nd at Hippodrome Square and throughout Chinatown. 

The packed programme showcases local Chinese talent and includes a range of traditional and modern music, dance and theatre performances.

Across the weekend, Southside will come alive with craft markets, food stalls, family activities and more. Events will be brought to a close with a spectacular fireworks display.

Hippodrome Square and throughout Chinatown, Birmingham, Sat 1 & Sun 2 February

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CHINESE NEW YEAR AT WESTON PARK 

Weston Park and the CultureKind Chinese Community have teamed up to welcome in the Year of the Snake. 

On Sunday the 16th, a lantern parade, led by a traditional dancing dragon, will kickstart celebrations, after which visitors to the venue can enjoy an evening of vibrant and traditional Chinese performances.

From Monday the 17th to Sunday the 23rd, the House will be ‘lit by lanterns’, offering an opportunity to explore the property in a whole new light.

CultureKind Chinese Community will be exhibiting in the Rose Paterson Art Gallery throughout the month. The gallery is open daily and free to enter.

Weston Park, Shropshire, Sun 16 - Sun 23 February

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CHINESE NEW YEAR OF THE SNAKE

The Potteries Museum is once again hosting its annual Chinese New Year celebration.

Visitors to the venue can expect plenty of lively and colourful entertainment, from traditional music and dance - including dragon and lion dance performances - to firecracker displays, acrobatics and Chinese craft workshops.

Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, Stoke-on-Trent, Sun 2 February

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LUNAR NEW YEAR COMMUNITY DAY

The New Art Gallery Walsall, Sat 1 FebruaryChinese folk fan dancing and lion dancing headline the New Art Gallery’s programme of Lunar New Year entertainment.

Visitors to the event (who are encouraged to wear red or pink in celebration) can have a go at calligraphy, print lucky red envelopes (Hongbao) with artist Mengxia Liu, and complete the Red Gallery Trail.

The New Art Gallery Walsall, Sat 1 February

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CHINESE NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

Trentham Shopping Village’s Chinese New Year offering includes the chance for families to meet a mischievous panda and learn all about snakes courtesy of ZooLab.

Performances by Chinese fan dancers and live music by a guzheng player also feature, as do a number of stalls selling traditional cuisine.

Trentham Shopping Village, Stoke-on-Trent, Sat 1 February

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BIRMINGHAM INTERNATIONAL TATTOO

This month’s Birmingham International Tattoo will be one of the first events in the UK to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War Two. 

The show’s ever-popular parade brings together massed international marching bands and combined pipes and drums. 

Other attractions include the field gun competition, dog racing during the British Flyball Association competition, and performances by massed dancers and vocal soloists.

bp pulse LIVE, Birmingham, Sat 8 & Sun 9 February

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THE BOOGIE LIGHTS EXPRESS

To celebrate both its own 60th birthday and the 200th anniversary of the modern railway, Severn Valley Railway is hosting this brand-new sound & light event on and in one of its steam trains. 

Featuring thousands of coloured LED lights and a soundtrack of iconic tunes from the 1960s to the present day, the special event includes an interactive show hosted by the legendary ‘Voiceover Man’ (as heard on Britain’s Got Talent and The X Factor).

There’s also the chance for passengers to compete against one another in a special singalong game.

Severn Valley Railway, Bewdley, Friday & Saturday nights from Fri 28 February - Sat 29 March

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TRACTOR WORLD SHOW

A firm favourite with fans of farming, trucking, classic models and amazing machinery, the Tractor World Show makes a welcome return at the end of the month.

As well as featuring hundreds of vintage, veteran, new and classic tractors, vans, stationary engines, classic commercials, lorries, trucks, Land Rovers and vintage vehicles, the show will also include historic displays of farm machinery and agricultural heritage across the weekend. 

The always popular live auction - with over 1,000 expected lots - makes a return on the Saturday, while Sunday’s attractions include the brand-new outdoor vintage autojumble,  featuring ‘strictly second-hand’ and motoring-themed bygones, collectables and memorabilia.

Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Sat 22 & Sun 23 February

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STEM Week

RAF Museum Midlands is hosting a range of fun activities for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Maths) Week this half term. 

The Galileo Dome mobile planetarium will be screening ‘stunning films’, while interactive show A Volatile History Of Chemistry will be available to enjoy on a daily basis in the venue’s lecture theatre. 

Other attractions include a Search The Entire Museum trail, flight simulators, quadcopter flying, and telescope workshops presented by the Shropshire Astronomical Society.

RAF Museum Midlands, Cosford, Sat 15 - Sun 23 February