With suitable weather upon us, this weekend Summer in Southside brings the seaside to the city.

Over the weekend, experience a vibrant carnival atmosphere where Hurst Street will be transformed with seaside sights, sounds and silliness. Be swept away by nautical encounters from a cod choir, deep-sea divers and even some pirates.

Play on wooden street games, dive into the mouth of an enormous whale, enjoy street acrobatics, a marching band with a difference and much, much more.

The festival takes place from 12-5pm on Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 July. The programme can be found here.

Constructing The Self is raising funds for Cancer Research UK. Please give what you can on the night.

This year’s festival kicks off slightly later than usual (19-24 April) and is a little shorter than previous editions. However, it will feature the same cinematic fun and games that is known and loved for.

A couple of this year’s highlights:

Vampyr – One of cinema’s landmarks, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s mesmerising horror Vampyr (1932), accompanied live by four-piece multi-instrumentalists Minima and film pianist Stephen Horne.

Oh Dear Diary – Brace yourself for an evening of angst-ridden, cringe-inducing, revealing and often unintentionally hysterical real life stories, as a group of volunteers read aloud from their teenage diaries.

Pierre Bastien – Textured looping soundscapes made from Meccano parts, motors, fans, and rattles + trumpet.A treat for the eyes and ears.

Sound and Vision – A mesmerising live AV triple-bill using lamps, lenses, modified record players, looping records and found objects. Those taking an analogue approach to their craft on the night include Amsterdam-based duo Optical Machines, sound artist Graham Dunning and Berlin-based artist collective Transforma with musician/composer PC NAKT.

The full programme will be online in the next few weeks.

Ever been to an opera? I have to admit, I haven’t. Considering I live in a city that has a wonderful opera company that successfully turns the art form on its head (that involves the local community to a great extent, and has even put on a production that involved a string quartet flying around in helicopters), it’s about time I got round to seeing one of Birmingham Opera Company‘s productions.

Their next production is Henry Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas’. Based on Book IV of Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’, the opera recounts the love of Dido, Queen of Carthage, for the Trojan hero Aeneas, and her despair when he abandons her. The opera was first performed in 1689.

‘Dido and Aeneas’ runs from 18-23 March in a top secret Birmingham location. Tickets are only a fiver and can be bought here.

Are you stressed out by life? Are you struggling with the daily grind? Rich Stokes has the life hacks that will help your life run more smoothly. With innovative ideas on everything from parenting to earwax, Rich will reduce your stress and make you a happier person.

Join him on Saturday 27 February at mac birmingham to find out ‘The Secret of Happiness’. In a new show exclusive to mac, he will combine stand-up, songs and poetry, in which he will attack the main issues threatening today’s society – including ukuleles, internet stalking and taking your children to school.

Tickets can be booked here.

The first Digbeth First Friday of the year is upon us. Events to look forward to include:

• The launch of the Precarity Centre at Grand Union featuring durational audio-visual performance, tarot card readings, stop frame animation and foam installation.
• Sovinec, an exhibition by Jindrich Štreit one of the most important Czech Documentary photographers at Centrala + late night AV shindig.
• The launch of AV Silk Road at VIVID Projects, with the opportunity to bring your own projections on the night – Bring Your Own Beamer style!
• Late opening at Eastside Projects with an AV performance from C100 exploring the intersection between art, architecture and urbanism.
• The opening of Bourn at Stryx
• The closing party for Liskbot’s exhibition at Millennium Point.

Hear directly from exciting small, local enterprises who need help and guidance and give them a bit of dosh! Sounds great! SOUP takes place once a month, and whoever makes the best pitch gets all the donations given on entry.

Find out about local projects, eat tasty soup and meet new people.

The next edition is this Saturday at Impact Hub Birmingham from 11am-2pm.

From 12 – 18 December, look out for Midlight, an interactive field of lights that will pop up at Birmingham Cathedral, ThinkTank and Eastside Park.

Made by British-Chinese artist Aowen Jin and commissioned by Birmingham Hippodrome CREATIVE, the piece is a constantly changing public artwork, which the spectator can alter:

Watch as the fibre optics react differently to each spectator, and take control of the entire field by interacting with it on Twitter…. Specially designed modules containing Raspberry Pis control thousands of LEDS, each featuring 9,000 colour variations. The lights constantly learn from their surroundings, adjusting intelligently to make sure that no two experiences with the artwork are ever the same.

More information can be found on the Midlight website.

The last Digbeth First Friday of the year is upon us and, of course, this edition has a distinct festive vibe. There’s lots going on – our highlights include:

• Many & Varied: December Salon – Fascinating talks from fascinating people on all kinds of creative ideas and projects. This is final Salon of the current programme – book a space now!

• SIFA Fireside: A Festive Evening of Music and Art – bring a donation to the homeless charity and drop in for mulled wine, a chance to see their murals and be serenaded by their in-house band, the Firesiders.

• Grand Union: Christmas Party! – Expect unique artist-made decorations, boozy roulette, festive cocktails to warm your cockles and an eclectic soundtrack of party classics.

• tArt – The first event by Black Hole Club members Ryan Hughes, Michael Lightborne and Kate Spence, combining music, performance and visual art.

• Boxxed: Tabula Rasa – A multifaceted art show combining high-speed photography, moving image and ethereal soundscapes.

The Hubb was a pioneering arts centre which was open from 2010-2013 in Sparkbrook. It hosted artists, academics and community activists from around the world, and provided a space for local communities to come together and be inspired by art and culture.

The Hubb closed its doors in the summer of 2013 as a result of a compulsory purchase order on the building. However, the team behind the centre have been working behind the scenes ever since to find a new building in the locality. Premises have been found, but they need help in order to renovate the space. They are currently crowdfunding in order to undertake the first phases of development which includes new flooring and lighting; repairing walls and ceilings; correcting pipework and electrics; plastering and painting.

Donations can be made here.