Now is the time to get dates in the diary says Mel March of VisitNorwich.co.uk
I don’t know about you, but I like to scatter my social life with some great things to look forward to. Don’t get me wrong – I absolutely love spontaneity, however key dates in the diary mean you don’t miss out on some of the things you love doing. And tickets go quickly!
2025 brings us new events in the first half of the year to get excited
about; events to invite a few friends along to share the journey! First up is Norwich Craft Beer Festival (3 – 4 May), brought to us by Toby and Dom of Sir Toby’s Beers and Bier Draak on King Street- so we are in safe hands. This is perfectly timed for the first May bank holiday Monday to recover!
The Waterfront in Norwich is the venue, offering four sessions to choose from (afternoons and evenings) with tickets starting at £9.90 (no drinks) and VIP tickets from £42.90 with drinks included (excluding the Waterfront Bar). £154 gets you a VIP ticket for the whole weekend. With a beer garden and an array of New England IPA’s, pale ales, imperial stouts, wacky sours, lagers and specialty imports, food trucks and DJs it sounds like a perfect way to spend mid spring by the river Wensum. And if you don’t fancy beer, you can still enjoy everything as The Waterfront bar will be open if your tipple is more spirits and prosecco!
If all of this sounds like a big investment, then an alternative is Pub & Paddle, which re-opens 6 April. Moorings are by The Ribs of Beef by Fye Bridge. Prices start at £22 for 4-5 hours and you decide where you want to paddle and which riverside pubs to stop at for refreshment following all your hard work! It’s not hard work.
Hot on the heels of the beer festival, we then lead into 17 heady days of international arts from the fabulous Norfolk & Norwich Festival (9 – 25 May). Appreciating that bank holiday to build up our strength.
The free opening evening on Friday 9 May (6pm, The Forum) will see High Voltage- a spectacular sight with 150 guitarists from around the region- rocking out! Following, see Speak Percussion and All the Queen’s Men March Static- an immersive sonic experience re-imagining the concept of a marching band.
Then the whole weekend will see free performance and entertainment across Norwich, including Chinese pole acrobatics, dance, Hip-Hop theatre, an interactive installation involving the public and water- there’s also singing trapeze.
Throughout the festival, there’s a good sprinkling of local contributors and co-created projects. Whilst the festival is about international arts, it’s inclusive and is a very important cultural celebration where local artists of all ages and, in fact, non-artists (the opening event is an example of this) can get involved. These are big opportunities for every age and great experiences for everyone.
The Festival’s Create & Share programme sees year-round work in schools and communities which often go unseen. This year the curtain will be pulled back. The Norwich Nine (11 May, 5pm, The Garage, £15); MONSTERS (21 May, 11.30am, free, Cinema City) and Sea Like A Mirror (9-25 May, free, Ther Forum) are some of the highlights featuring East Anglian talent.
6 April also sees the re-opening of Dragon Hall for the summer, home of contemporary literary house The National Centre for Writing. Here you can pop in for free, enjoy their beautiful and peaceful courtyard garden and take a free tour. See www.nationalcentreforwriting.org.uk/whats-on/ for all the details.
Next in the diary is the return of Norwich Jazz Festival (15-24 May) after a 20-year hiatus. Norwich Arts Centre celebrates 45 years in 2025 and along with its usual fantastic line up of live performance, its new Jazz Festival progamme will also see performances at Epic, Anteros and more.
The festival will showcase the best UK and international Jazz musicians, including the National Youth Jazz Orchestra (22 May, 8pm, Epic Studios tickets from £14, under 26 £6.50) and Ebi Soda (17 May, 8pm, NAC, £18.50).
Norwich Wine Week returns 18th – 29th June 2025 with a slightly new look. Kicking off with Norwich Wine Week Uncorked at Dragon Hall (18 June, 6pm – 9pm, tickets on sale now). The opening event will be an evening of curated wines from Norfolk, the region and around the world.
This being the perfect backdrop for modern day wine makers and merchants because Dragon Hall is the only surviving medieval trading hall built by an individual merchant in Western Europe.
The rest of the week will see an exciting series of unique wine-related experiences popping up in venues across the city. Throughout, we will discover a diverse range of experiences, from tastings and masterclasses to special menus and exclusive discounts. As usual there will be something for everyone.
English Wine Week (17-25 June) and Norwich Wine Week are a timestamp for us, several days to shine a spotlight on our talented wine makers and local vineyards who are producing award-winning wine. Particular favourites of mine discovered during previous weeks are Flint’s Fumé (£19.99) and their Charmat Rose (£22.99).
I can’t let this month pass by without some news from Norfolk’s amazing local food scene.
The Last Wine Bar and Restaurant has recently celebrated its first birthday and with al fresco seating at their lovely St George’s location- a glass of wine and a plate of something nice is very appealing. As is their cocktail list and happy hour (Wednesday – Saturday, 5pm – 7pm, two cocktails for £14)!
Latest news from the 2AA Rosette WinePress restaurant at The Maids Head Hotel is that they have a new chef. Norwich-local Alastair Grand is heading up a new team elevating their fine dining experience even further with French classics and a modern twist.
Finally, Benedicts celebrates its 10th birthday in June. This feels like a birthday I need to get in on! Richard Bainbridge has also contributed to The Great British Menu’s new cookbook (GBM is celebrating 20 years this year) with his recipe for his Nanny Bush’s Trifle, which incidentally won Richard a place on the banqueting team in 2015. So that’s three anniversaries in one. The universe is telling us something.
For latest Norwich news and blogs covering history, food and drink, events, the outdoors and culture from Norwich and around the county sign up to the VisitNorwich e-newsletter linked from the www.visitnorwich.co.uk homepage.