Urban Wild, a new free week-long festival, will celebrate Southampton as a vibrant hub of nature, creativity, and community this May half term.
The Urban Wild Festival will showcase Southampton’s green and blue wild spaces and champion all voices to promote the identity and artistry that surrounds these places. It is a programme of more than 30 events from 26 May to 1 June hosted by a variety of green and community groups and local organisations spread across Southampton venues. The programme includes walks, talks, and group cycle rides, as well as urban gardening, bird watching, and workshops such as creative arts and sculpting, knitting mini hedgehogs, and making bee hotels.
On 29th May at 2pm in the Council Chamber there will be a theatrical council meeting taking place as part of the festival, organised by Southampton National Park City.
It will involve people representing species living in the wild in Southampton and is an exercise in imagination to explore what democracy would look like if non-human residents took part. It is believed to be the first time an ‘interspecies council’ event will take place in an actual council chamber in the UK. The event will be presided over by the outgoing Mayor, Dave Shields.
Urban Wild on the Common – the festival’s grand finale – will round up the week on Sunday 1 June by transforming a corner of Southampton Common into a space filled with stalls, marquees, performances, and music.
For more information about Urban Wild, visit southamptonnpc.com/urbanwild
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